


Merging Universes

by Toshua



Category: Stargate SG-1, The Sentinel
Genre: AU, Jungle, Shamans, slash suggested, spirit walks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-14
Updated: 2017-07-14
Packaged: 2018-12-02 02:36:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 36,847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11499990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Toshua/pseuds/Toshua
Summary: An AU where Jim and Blair are offered the chance for another career after the dissertation fallout.  They meet the Stargate gang and embark on another adventure on another world.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written and published as a fanzine published by NutHatch Press in 2004. I was really pleased with this story and it is complete.

“Daniel, what are you so excited about?” Colonel Jack O’Neill sipped his coffee as he glanced at the spread of photos scattered across the conference room table.

Daniel finished placing a stack of xeroxed documents, a pile of newspaper clippings and an old news-magazine in a neat row. “We got these photos back from the robot cameras on PA 175 last night. When I glanced at them this morning, I remembered reading about a discovery of a stone temple in Mexico a couple of years ago.” He slid one of the blown up photos toward the colonel.

“So? A lot of the buildings we find on other planets resemble the ones on Earth. That’s what started the whole Stargate thing, remember?”

Jack sat down at the table and picked up the nearest glossy, grainy picture with last night’s date and time on it. The photo looked like an old stone temple pyramid, mostly covered over with jungle.

Sam and Teal’C entered the room. Teal’C took his seat across from Daniel’s perch and Sam started wandering around the table looking at each item so carefully laid out.

“Exactly. But we haven’t found anything relating to Aztec or Mayan culture. Until now.” Daniel looked at the rest of the SG-1 team. “Don’t you see the connection? The Aztecs actually worshiped a serpent god. He was called Quetzalcoatl, the Feathered-Serpent God. The Mayans called him Cukulcan. Their supreme deity was Itzamná. He was portrayed as a serpent god.”

“Daniel, Mayan and Aztec temples have been found all over Mexico and South America. What makes this one so different?” Sam’s puzzled voice stated all of their thoughts.

“The man who discovered this temple called it the Temple of the Sentinels.” Daniel dropped the photo he’d grabbed and scooped up a xerox of some pages of a book. “In the 1800s, the explorer, Sir Richard Burton, wrote about Sentinels as someone with ‘a genetic advantage’ that guarded their tribes. He said that a Sentinel protected his people, led them to water, predicted the weather, or kept them out of other tribes’ wars.”

“I thought Burton’s theories and writings were mostly ignored.” Sam poured her own coffee and pushed the carafe toward Jack.

“They were. His wife destroyed most of his manuscripts after he died. Only a few survived.” Daniel dropped the copies, grabbed another set. “But several years ago, a grad student working on his master’s degree did a paper on modern day Sentinels. He wrote about enhanced senses relating to perfume testers, wine tasters, that sort of thing. But he extrapolated the existence of someone today, in our society having all five senses enhanced. What they could do, how they would fit into our society, some of the challenges they would face.”

“Daniel, are you trying to make a point or trying to put me to sleep?” 

Daniel shot Jack an annoyed glance. He grabbed a stack of newspaper clippings and shoved them to the colonel. “Last month there was a big uproar in Cascade, WA., about a man who was supposed to have enhanced senses. He was a cop. A grad student’s dissertation got sent to a publisher telling the story of a modern day Sentinel. The grad student said it was all a lie, that he committed fraud because of the pressure to publish. He dropped out of school and the fury died down.”

Jack scanned each lurid headline. “So this Sandburg fellow claimed Detective Ellison was a Sentinel. But it was a lie — right?”

“No. It wasn’t. I pulled every article I could find on Ellison. He was lost in Peru for eighteen months.” Daniel slid the magazine cover with Ellison’s face to the center of the table. “He’s made Cop of the Year.” Another article joined the magazine. “His solve rate is through the roof.” Clipping after clipping joined the others. “Sandburg teamed up with him a little over three years ago as an observer. Since then, they have been an unbeatable team.” Daniel placed one more picture in his stack. It was a photo of the fountain in front of Hargrove Hall at Rainier University. 

Jack reached for the clipping and read. “Grad student almost murdered at University. Grad student Blair Sandburg was almost drowned in the fountain in front of Hargrove Hall. Only the quick and determined actions of Detective James Ellison saved his life. Sources state that the paramedic crew had ceased resuscitation efforts on Mr. Sandburg when Detective Ellison intervened.”

Jack looked up at Daniel. “Let me get this straight. Sandburg’s a grad student. He’s writing about Sentinels. He gets caught for fraud. He rides with an award winning detective as an observer, who happens to be the person he says is a Sentinel. Someone tries to kill him. And Ellison saves his life. I seem to be missing something somewhere. What has this,” Jack waved the article about the drowning, “got to do with this?” He picked up the grainy photo of the vine covered temple on another planet.

Daniel looked at Teal’C. “Your turn.”

Teal’C looked at his friends. “There is a legend, what you people call a fairy tale, I believe.”

“Does it start with ‘once upon a time?’” Jack’s voice dripped sarcasm.

Teal’C looked at the colonel, one eyebrow rising. “If it will make you feel any better.” He took a deep breath as he gathered his thoughts. “Once upon a time...”

 

Blair Sandburg opened the loft door cautiously. His peering through the crack and over the chain only revealed a pair of dark blue uniforms and someone in jeans. The dark blue uniforms with braid and medals did nothing to reassure him.

“Yes, can I help you?” Blair swallowed hard. Military made him nervous. Uniformed military made him more nervous. Even if one of them was female and a pretty blonde. He wished for a second, he’d grabbed the baseball bat under the bed. The uniforms were pushed aside and a man close to Blair’s age forced his way to the front.

“Blair, I’m Daniel Jackson. We need your help.” The man looked around himself, then smiled a little. “Don’t let these uniforms spook you. We’re really quite harmless.”

Blair looked into the blue eyes behind round glasses, the slightly longish sandy hair and the fatigue jacket over jeans and turtleneck. “Do I know you?” Blair still remained behind the chained door. The other military uniforms were looking at Jackson with various expressions, from amusement to exasperation. 

Daniel patted down his pockets, finally coming up with a business card, which he offered through the crack in the door. “I’m an archaeologist. I’d like to talk to you, perhaps on the inside of the door?” 

Blair took the business card, looked at it. ‘Dr. Daniel Jackson, Archaeologist.’ The second line of text read ‘consultant, U.S. Air Force, cultural liaison.’ Blair looked back at the three people. The other man was thin, maybe Jim’s age, with short gray hair and wise but weary brown eyes. The woman was smiling, trying to reassure, but her eyes were surveying their surroundings and not missing anything.

The sound of the elevator arriving interrupted any further conversations and the door split open. After a second, a tall man stepped clear of the car, gun raised and aimed toward the door of apartment 307. Blair sighed at Jim’s arrival. Now, maybe he could quit hiding. He hated hiding. But since the press conference, hiding was something he’d gotten good at. 

“Chief, you all right?” Jim called from behind the group. “Do you know these people?”

Jackson turned toward Ellison, hands out, palms up. “Detective Ellison, we’re unarmed. We just want to talk to you, both of you.” 

During the moment Jim had the military’s attention, Blair closed the loft door and darted into his bedroom, coming back with his baseball bat. Armed, he unchained the door and opened it again. 

Jim still had his gun out, eyes narrowed as he studied the two men and one woman. “Why do you want to talk to us?” 

“It’s a long story,” Jackson sighed. He glanced at the others behind him. “It would be a lot easier to explain if we weren’t facing a gun. We mean you no harm.” 

“Chief?” Jim looked past them to Blair, standing in the door, baseball bat in his hands. “Suggestions? I can’t just shoot them and throw them off the fire escape.” 

“I guess we’ll let them in. But, I think I’ll call Simon, just to let him know we have company.” 

“Good idea.” Jim motioned the three visitors toward the open door. 

“Gentlemen.” He kept his gun in sight, only lowering it to his waist, still aimed and ready. By the time Jim had closed the door behind everyone, Blair was on the phone and telling Simon of their uninvited guests. He was nodding at Simon’s conversation. Then he hung up.

“Simon says, he’ll call back in a hour. If we don’t answer, there’ll be a patrol car here in minutes.” 

The tall man with the eagle on his shoulders looked around, then faced Ellison squarely. “Don’t you think this is a little paranoid? We’re the government. We’re here to help you.” The last statement was spoken with a little humor.

Jim didn’t lower his guard or put away his gun. “There’s very little I trust with the military, Colonel..?”

“O’Neill. Jack O’Neill. This is Captain Samantha Carter and the one doing all the talking is Dr. Daniel Jackson.” O’Neill looked around the loft again. “Nice place. Open. Lots of light.” He glanced at the skylights. “Must be a bear to heat when there is a cold snap.”

Jim shrugged, then went to where Blair was still standing near the kitchen counter. Both men were silent, exchanging a quick glance, eyes meeting and acknowledging the same questions.

Colonel O’Neill finally broke his silence. “Please, Detective Ellison, Mr. Sandburg, we’re here because we need your help. We aren’t here to kidnap you, interrogate you, or intimidate. If you’ll relax a little, we’ll explain.”

Jim finally put the gun back into the holster in the center of his back and Blair propped the baseball bat next to the counter. The silence deepened until finally Sandburg broke it. 

“Well, if we’re not going to start shooting each other, would anyone like coffee, tea?” 

Colonel O’Neill pulled out a chair at the table and flopped into it, as casual as dress blues would allow. “Personally, I’d like a beer.” 

Jackson chuckled at Jack’s ‘I’m really harmless’ action. “Tea would be nice. Sam?” 

Sam settled cautiously on the yellow club chair, still watching Ellison. “If our hosts wouldn’t object, I’ll join the Colonel and have a beer.”

A smile crawled over Sandburg’s face and he nudged Jim in the side. “Guess they can’t be too dangerous if they’re willing to accept refreshments.” He reached for the tea kettle and turned on a burner. Jim opened the refrigerator and pulled two bottles from its depths. He handed the uniforms the bottles and then retreated back to the supporting post, within arm’s reach of Sandburg and the baseball bat. The tea kettle began to make noise and Blair reached for two mugs. 

“Dr. Jackson, any preferences on tea? I have quite a selection.” 

Daniel shook his head, and finally sat down on the couch, elbows draped on his knees. He was looking at a mask on the wall. He got back up, and approached the mask, one hand coming up to stroke across the open mouth. “Mayan, isn’t it? I don’t recognize the god.”

Blair carried the mug to his guest. “I doubt if you would. It’s a carving of a tribal warrior, found in a temple in Mexico.” 

Daniel took the mug, met the bright blue eyes. “The temple of the Sentinels.” He held the eyes, willing Blair not to turn away.

Blair shrugged silently and sipped from his own mug.

Jim watched the interaction between his friend and the stranger. “Who are you and what do you want?”

The colonel tried to break the tension in the room. “Detective, we’re here because Dr. Jackson insists that your talents and Mr. Sandburg’s knowledge will be valuable to our mission.” The silver-haired man sipped his beer and raised it to Ellison in silent approval, trying not to appear threatening.

Daniel turned away from Blair. “See, Blair’s research,” he glanced back at Sandburg, “I can call you Blair, can’t I?” When Blair nodded, Daniel grinned and pressed on. “And the furor over the leak of his dissertation brought you to our attention.” His hands flew between detective and teacher. “After the press conference, I approached Colonel O’Neill and General Hammond, our boss, with the idea of recruiting both of you. It took a little convincing, but we’re here.” He swept his arm around the room.

Blair’s and Jim’s eyes met. Jim shook his head slightly, then frowned at their guests. “Before we go any further, maybe you’d better back up and tell us what you think you know. Because, right now, you’re not making any sense to me.”

Daniel opened his mouth to start a long explanation, but O’Neill cut him off. “Dr. Jackson believes that Mr. Sandburg’s press conference was the lie, that Jim Ellison is a ‘Sentinel’ with all the genetic advantages that explorer Richard Burton documented about a hundred years ago. If his belief is true, General Hammond would like to offer both of you a job.”

Jim opened his mouth and was startled when Blair’s voice came out. “I held the press conference for a reason. The paper was a fraud.” Blair’s voice was firm, even if it was soft. His dark blue eyes met Jim’s. 

“No it’s not.” Jackson’s head was bouncing from O’Neill to Ellison. “I researched Detective Ellison’s case files. I researched Burton’s claims. I found the paper you’d published in the past, Blair. It took some work, but you convinced me.” He went to Ellison, met the icy blue eyes. “You are a Sentinel. You are a man with senses so acute you can probably hear everyone’s heartbeat in this room. You can probably tell what type of shampoo I washed my hair in last night. Why, I bet you can see every thread in the weave of the jeans I’m wearing.”

He turned and stalked to Sandburg, not quite looming over him. “You’re his teacher, his back-up, his partner. You’re the one that guides Ellison in using his talents. You figure out how to keep them from hurting him, at the same time, how to use them at the highest level. Once you started working with the detective at the police department, his solve rate went through the roof. I couldn’t find anything in Burton’s work which gives what you do a name.” 

Jim spoke up. “He’s been called a ‘guide’. He’s also a Shaman.” Jim went to Blair, smiled at his younger partner before facing them again. “He’s my partner. That’s all anyone else needs to know.” 

O’Neill spoke up. “Glad to hear we resolved that issue.” The Colonel got up and found the recycle bin for the empty beer bottle. He rinsed his hands in the sink and wiped them on a paper towel. “Now, can we please press on with the next item on the agenda?” His tone was ironic and condescending. He nodded toward the Captain Carter.

Captain Carter was on her feet. “I realize that you’re an Army Ranger, Detective Ellison.” 

“Was,” Jim interrupted. “I left the Army years ago.” 

Carter nodded, but her eyes were twinkling. “‘Were’ an Army Ranger. However, once a Ranger, always a Ranger, active duty or not. We’ve been authorized to offer you a chance to use that training again. With your special talents, and the help of your partner, we think you would make an invaluable team to add to Stargate Command.”

“Wait a minute.” Blair had joined Jim’s side, presenting an united front to the military establishment. “What command are you talking about? I understand with downsizing and the all volunteer forces, recruitment can be a little difficult, but I doubt very seriously if a colonel and captain go out on recruiting missions.” 

Jim’s hand gripped his partner’s wrist and after a moment of studying the solemn faces around them, he pulled Blair to the table and sat down, forcing Blair down beside him. “We’re listening.” 

All eyes turned to the female captain. She looked at O’Neill, who nodded his permission to continue. After a second, she started pacing. She turned to Ellison and Sandburg. “We are a team from a secret project called Stargate Command.” 

It was a full hour before Jim and Blair spoke again, except to call Simon and tell him that everything was fine. They listened in amazement as the captain and colonel told the story of Cheyenne Mountain and the Stargate. Daniel took over with the history of the Stargate, the story of hundreds of human cultures scattered through out the galaxy and the contacts they had made. They listened in mouth-dropping silence about the threat to Earth, the battles fought and won, and the continuing threat hanging over them. O’Neill got up and interrupted Daniel when he took a breath to start again. He placed his hand over Jackson’s mouth for a second then smiled at their hosts. 

“You have to forgive Daniel sometimes. He forgets he’s not a teacher and slips into lecture mode if you don’t stop him.” O’Neill tapped Daniel on the cheek, causing the archaeologist to pull away with a blush. “What we want to know is, will you join us? With your special gifts and backgrounds, you would be ideal on one of the SG teams. I know Blair has left the university and is at loose ends at the moment. Daniel tells me that a ‘Sentinel’ has a compulsion to protect his tribe. I can’t think of a bigger tribe in need of protection then the entire planet.” 

Jim and Blair exchanged glances. Jim saw a gleam of enthusiasm in his partner’s eyes for the first time in weeks. A thousand scenarios ran through his mind as he watched the same thoughts occurring to his partner. “We’ll need to think about it, talk it over,” Jim said to the colonel. Blair nodded at Jackson. 

“You understand everything we’ve talked about is classified and cannot be discussed outside of this room?” Colonel O’Neill looked from one man to the other. Both nodded silently, then Jim showed their guests out. 

O’Neill stopped at the open door and shook Ellison’s hand. “In case we didn’t make this clear enough, you are not enlisting, all right? You would be civilian consultants, just like Daniel. You would answer to General Hammond, and sign a contract for services rendered, but you won’t be active duty.” 

Blair nodded. “That’s good to hear, Colonel. I don’t think I could handle the idea of enlisting.” He nudged Jim. “For one thing, he’s too old to re-enlist.” Sandburg smiled at Jim’s glare. “I’m sure you’ve heard that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” 

Jackson spoke from the hallway. “I don’t know about that, Blair, you’d be amazed what new tricks the Colonel has learned.”

O’Neill rolled his eyes at Jackson, but smiled at Ellison and Sandburg. “It was nice meeting you.”

Jim closed the door behind them. He leaned his head against the poster on the door and sighed. A warm hand wrapped around his forearm and pulled, turning him until he was facing his roommate.

“Jim? You all right?” Blair’s eyes were full of concern as he looked at his pale roommate. “Want to sit down?”

Jim shook his head. “No. I need a beer.” He put actions to words and grabbed two beers from the fridge and handed one to Sandburg as he headed for the balcony. He stepped out into the late evening light and leaned over the brick wall, surveying his city. After a moment, Sandburg joined him and the two men watched the last of the light fade from the sky and the city start to glow with artificial suns by the thousands.

Jim broke the silence. “Do you believe them?” 

Blair’s shoulders rocked. “Don’t know. I can easily check out their identities. But as far as this Stargate project, who knows. If it is as secret as they claim, I doubt if I can find anything on the Net about it.”

“They believe what they’re saying. Their pulses were rock steady. Especially the colonel’s. Jackson seems a little more excitable, but I have a feeling that trait is more the man than the archaeologist.” Jim finished his beer, and kept on looking out over his city.

“What do you want to do about this?” Sandburg’s voice whispered. Jim looked down at his partner who was mirroring his stance against the wall. 

“What do you want to do?”

“I asked you first.” Blair grinned for a second. His eyes twinkled in the near darkness.

Jim looked out over his city again. “Chief, we haven’t talked about a lot of things. There always seemed to be something in the way, something pushing us to the back of the priority list.” He looked down at the beer bottle twisting in his hands. “After your press conference, you seemed content to become a cop. We never asked, I never asked, if you were happy with this turn in your life.”

Blair looked into the darkness, trying to put his thoughts in order. How do you tell your best friend how conflicted the last few months had left him? How do you explain how grateful he was to Jim and Simon, and at the same time, how much he hated what was happening to him, around him? He’d always had the gift of gab with the surface issues, but when it came to issues of the heart, he’d always clammed up. 

Jim listened to the silence, then consciously tuned into his friend’s heartbeat and breathing. Blair’s heart was slightly elevated, but not enough to give him a clue to the man’s mental state.

“Chief?”

“Jim, I guess we never talked because I was too worried about you. How you were feeling, how you were taking things. I’m so used to putting you first, I hadn’t really let myself put me first.” 

“That’s not good, Chief.” Jim sighed. “When I was married, one of Carolyn’s gripes was that I never thought about her, it was always about me, how I felt about things, what I wanted. She said it got old quick. A marriage is supposed to be a partnership, with both sides getting something out of it at least fifty percent of the time. When we divorced, I promised myself I wouldn’t make that mistake again. But I did. Only it wasn’t with my wife, it was with my partner, my guide, my shaman. That relationship has got to be more important than a marriage.” He tipped Sandburg’s face up to him so their eyes met. “Blair, are you happy with becoming a ‘gun carrying cop’? Honest answer.”

Blair opened his mouth to say ‘yes’ but nothing came out. He closed it again and took a deep breath. He couldn’t lie to his Sentinel, and telling him he was happy was not the exact truth.

Jim waited, watching Blair’s face as the man struggled with his answer. “Chief, if answering me is hard, then I guess I have my answer.”

“No! Well, not really. I mean — I’m not happy how things have turned out, but I am happy that you want me as your partner, as a detective. I would have liked to gotten to this point without blowing my reputation and jeopardizing yours.”

“And losing your academic career.” Jim said quietly. 

“You know, Jim, it’s not the university I miss. It’s teaching. The university had just as much politics and bureaucracy as any other government institution. But teaching gave me a chance to make a difference in somebody’s life. To open someone’s eyes to a universe; to see something different, or to change an outlook. That is what I miss.”

“Don’t you think you make a difference now, working with me?” Jim’s voice held a note of sorrow. 

“Sure I do. When I look at some of the cases we’ve solved, some of the lives we’ve changed, I can see the difference. That’s the only reason becoming a ‘gun carrying cop’ is a feasible alternative. It’s the only way I can watch your back and help the tribe at the same time.”

Jim listened to his companion’s spiel and smiled inwardly. Almost from the first moment Sandburg had ridden with him, the teacher had taken to police work. Blair was quick on the uptake, thought on his feet, and inventive in dealing with unpredictable situations. Jim had been honest in the hospital a few weeks earlier when he said Sandburg was the best cop he knew and a good partner. He was heartened that Blair seemed to like the idea of being his partner, as a fully accredited cop. But the visit of a colonel from the Air Force was changing everything.

“What about this? Would you like to do something completely different?” Jim voiced the question first, knowing that Blair’s quest for knowledge would cause the offer of the Stargate program to be another brass ring dangled in front of him. 

Blair stared at his partner, trying to read the thoughts behind the ice blue eyes. “Jim, I —” He shook his head and tried again. “Wouldn’t you like to see new worlds, find new people, experience something so totally new it can’t even be described?” As he spoke, the words started to trip over themselves and his eyes started twinkling. 

Jim watched the excitement start to roll off of Sandburg. He grinned. “Go where no man has gone before, right?” 

Blair froze, then tried to look nonchalant about the idea. “Something like that.” He started to turn away, but Jim’s hand on his arm stopped him. Blair looked at the hand gripping his biceps then into the detective’s eyes again. 

“It would be a way for us both to do what we want. Me, to protect the tribe; you to learn and teach.” 

Blair paced away, came back to Jim and studied his friend. “You could be happy changing careers? You’re a cop. Cascade is your home.” 

“I thought you said I was a Sentinel first, cop second.” Jim’s tone tried to stay light, knowing he was traveling into an area they needed to discuss, and hadn’t. The last two months had been so traumatic to the partnership they had yet to come to grips with the whirlwind that had almost destroyed them. It hung between them, neither one acknowledging it, both knowing they had to deal with it.

Blair looked at Jim, then turned away. “You said you’d be better off if you could turn off your Sentinel senses, go back the way it was four years ago.”

“I was angry.”

The three words fell between them. Blair’s blue eyes locked onto his partner and did not back down.

Jim knew the explanation wasn’t sufficient to his guide. “I was afraid, all right?” He forced the words out between his teeth. “I couldn’t handle dealing with the media, you, your mom and the Zeller case, all at the same time. I felt like the world was crashing around me.”

“Do you still feel that way? Do you still wish that your gifts would go away?”

“Right now, at this minute, no. But that doesn’t mean that I won’t feel that way tomorrow.”

“Incacha said you would remain a Sentinel as long as you wanted to be. If you don’t want to use your gifts, you’re probably stubborn and determined enough to suppress them again, just like when you shot that security guard by accident. You don’t have to be a Sentinel to be a cop.” Blair resumed pacing again, hands rubbing his face. “That would effectively make what I said at the press conference true.” He pulled his hair back from his face, needing something to do with his hands. “You wouldn’t need me. I wouldn’t have to go to the academy and become a cop to remain your partner.” He met the ice blue eyes following his every movement. “You wouldn’t need me,” he whispered again, eyes agonized, desperately needing something from his friend. Some type of confirmation that everything he’d thrown away hadn’t been in vain. 

“If I wasn’t a sentinel anymore, you would be free to follow your dreams. You could take Colonel O’Neill up on the offer and join this project.” 

Blair huffed at the man facing him. “That sounded like a package deal to me. What good is a Guide without a Sentinel?” 

“What good is a Sentinel without his Guide?” Jim’s voice was low, but every word was spoken clearly. He reached for the back of Blair’s neck and wrapped his fingers into the long hair. “I told you before, you’re a good cop, and the best partner I’ve ever had. I didn’t add that you’re my best friend and I would be lost without you.” He shook Blair gently. “I don’t do this emotional bloodletting to often, Chief. Better soak it up while you can.” 

Blair felt his face break into a smile. A half step brought him into Jim’s arms and they shared a tight hug before pulling away. “Emotional bloodletting, huh?” The grin threatened to break his face. 

Jim bopped Blair gently on the back of the head. “Yeah, and it hurt. Don’t ask me to do that again.” The sentinel turned his Guide toward the interior of the building and pushed him inside, his hand firmly on Sandburg’s back. He closed the glass doors behind them and drew the shades down the windows. 

“Want another beer?” Blair called from the kitchen.

“No. Coffee is fine.” Jim wandered to the fireplace and started the gas logs, then into the bathroom for a moment. When he came out, Blair was pouring grounds into the coffee filter while the teakettle occupied a spot over blue flames. “Better make enough for several cups, Chief. Simon’s coming down the hall.” Jim unlocked the door and opened it. 

Simon strode in without breaking stride. “Will someone please tell me what the hell is going on? First I get this panic phone call from Sandburg about the military invading the loft, then a second one saying everything is okay. I just passed a motorcade of military vehicles, led by a HumVee waving a colonel’s insignia flag. I think I’m due an explanation.” 

“Sure you are, Simon. You want coffee with that explanation, or a beer?” Sandburg called from the kitchen. 

“I’m off duty, Sandburg.” Simon strolled into the kitchen liked he owned it and grabbed a brown bottle from the fridge. “I’m waiting.” 

Sentinel and Guide looked at each other. Jim went first. “We were offered a job, doing what we do best, protecting the tribe.” 

“It was to both of us, as a team,” Sandburg said quietly as he watched the coffee drip into the carafe. 

Simon looked from one to the other. “You can’t be serious? The military? I thought a whole lot of ‘let’s keep Jim’s senses a secret’ is because you’re afraid of what the military would do with you.” 

Jim nodded. “They know about my senses. It was what led them here. They want a functioning Sentinel, with his Guide, for exploration work.” 

“Covert ops,” Simon muttered. 

“Not exactly.” Blair handed Jim his mug, then sat down beside him. “It’s classified, Simon. I’m sure you understand that.” 

The big police captain looked from Sentinel to Guide. “So what are you going to do?” 

Jim looked at his partner. “We don’t know yet, sir. We were discussing our options when you came in.” 

Simon chugged the beer then glanced at his detective. “Jim, you’re a cop. You’ve got a good career going, a good record. You want to pitch it for a job with the military? Isn’t that what you had?”

“This is a little different,” Blair started. 

Simon glared at Sandburg. “And what about you, Sandburg? We’re offering you a chance to join the PD as a detective. You think that was an easy deal to make? Do you know what favors I had to call in?” 

“Simon, I’m sure everything you did for me was beyond the call of duty and I appreciate it.” 

“Yes it was. But I’m sure my influence on your behalf will be returned tenfold in crime investigations.” 

“You mean you’ll hold that over our heads forever,” Blair half grumbled, offended for himself and Jim, but not wanting to alienate Simon.

“I didn’t say that, Sandburg.” 

“Yes, you did.” Jim backed his partner. “Simon, he has an opportunity here that he didn’t have yesterday. Why shouldn’t he consider it? Why shouldn’t we consider it?” 

Blair looked at his partner, meeting the crystal blue eyes and reading Jim’s thoughts so clearly shown there. Jim nodded slightly, confirming that the ball was in Blair’s court. Blair looked at Simon — really looked at the man he was going to be working for if he became a detective. Simon Banks was a big man, powerful physically and mentally. Banks was a fair man, a honest man, and a honest cop, who wasn’t above using all his resources to get a job done. Jim had once accused the man of using the Sentinel as a bulldog to solve a case and that was true. But what about the next captain they would work for, or the next police commissioner? Would they always have the support of their commanding officer or the discretion to pursue leads in their own way? The thoughts flew hot and furious in Blair’s mind. Ellison seemed to follow Sandburg’s train of thought and reached the same conclusion at almost the same instance. The partner’s nodded to each other. 

“Simon, Jim wants a leave of absence for at least six months, maybe even a year. I’m not going to the Academy, at least not now. We want to explore this possibility.” Sandburg turned back to the captain, feeling solid within himself for the first time in weeks. 

Simon launched from the sofa. “And just how am I supposed to arrange that?! Jim, your caseload is through the roof, you know that. Am I supposed to just turn it over to someone else for six months while you play Ranger again?”

“Megan and Joel have been working with me, Simon. They can take over without a problem. I don’t have any court cases pending, so that’s not a problem.” 

Simon stomped to the kitchen, slammed his beer bottle on the counter and stomped back to glare at his friends, hands on his hips. “Just like that, you’re gonna walk away from Cascade. Thought this was your ‘tribe’?” The tone dripped irony. 

“Still is Simon. It’s just expanded a little.” Jim smiled at Sandburg who was nodding behind Simon’s back, a smile lighting his face and eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

**4 weeks later**

Blair looked down at his notebook and nodded at his neat script. Life had been very interesting since he and Jim had packed up the loft, stored everything of importance and flew away to Cheyenne mountain. The four weeks had flown with training, briefing, more training and lots of hours studying videos of Stargate missions. He flipped back through the notebook and paused at a page. 

**Two weeks**

Finally saw the Stargate today. General Hammond felt that we had gone through enough orientation to actually see what we would be traveling through. Daniel explained how it’d been found and I’ve read everything he’s written on the history he’s researched. It was ‘on’ or ‘open’ or something like that. How do you describe a big metal donut with what looks like a swimming pool in the middle? Or more like light reflecting on a swimming pool? There is a control center mounted above the Stargate, separated from the gate by bullet proof glass and metal. There was a bunch of military police with guns aiming at the gate. These guys are serious! The water wavered and Colonel O’Neill came through at a dead run, followed by Dr. Jackson and the Jaffa, Teal’C. O’Neill started yelling about close the gate and close the iris. By the time he and his team reached the bottom of the ramp leading to the gate, a metal ‘shield’ was over the gate and there was this huge thump and bang on the shield. Everyone looked at the gate as it shook. Then the shield held and Hammond ordered everyone to stand down. I don’t know what happened on the other side, but Jackson was bleeding in a couple of places and Teal’C was limping. Teal’C. Now he is something else. We finally met him a couple of days ago. Boy, is he big! Jackson told us about him but I didn’t really believe the briefing until Teal’C walked into the conference room. Jim’s radar goes on super-alert and he almost reacted to Teal’C like he did to Alex. Teal’C takes one look at Jim and BOWS. He all but goes down one knee! What could be weirder than that? Teal’C turns to me and GOES DOWN ON ONE KNEE, with his head bowed. Then he looks at me, then Jim. He gets to his feet, bows his head to both of us and walks out, and never said a word. Now I have more questions then I had before. 

Blair closed the journal as Colonel O’Neill stuck his head in the door. 

“There you are. Briefing in fifteen minutes.” Before Sandburg could open his mouth, O’Neill shook his head. “I know, you’ve got a thousand questions. I promised you an answer and you’re about to get it.” 

Sandburg saw his partner behind O’Neill, along with Dr. Jackson. Jim was wearing his ‘don’t talk to me’ expression and the muscle in his jaw was an iron bar. Sandburg hurried through the open door and touched Ellison on the arm. 

“Jim? What is it?” 

Jim gripped Blair’s arm as they walked toward the main conference room. “Seems there’s a reason why my being a Sentinel with a Shaman is vital to Earth.” 

Jackson held open the door as SG-1 filed in, followed by Ellison, Sandburg and Hammond. General Hammond went to the head of the table and waited for his people to find their chairs. Ellison did not sit down and Sandburg followed his partner’s lead. In the four weeks they’d lived and worked at Cheyenne mountain, Sandburg followed Ellison’s example when it came to dealing with military protocol. The ex-Ranger was unfailingly polite to every enlisted man and officer. He stood when an officer came into the room and waited until the ranking officer was seated before he sat. He called officers ‘sir’ and always deferred to officers who outranked his Army rank of Captain. O’Neill had informed both of them that as civilian consultants it wasn’t necessary to conform to military protocols. O’Neill’s words fell on deaf ears. 

Hammond nodded to Ellison and sat down. Voices fell silent as the general looked around the full table. Colonel O’Neill’s team, SG-1, was in full attendance. Dr. Jackson and Teal’C sat on either side of the colonel. On the other side of the table, Captain Carter joined Ellison and Sandburg. Hammond made eye contact with each person.

“Our preliminary survey of PA-175 several months ago indicated that a human civilization approximating primitive tribal Earth cultures exists. We’ve found no sign of airborne hydrocarbon signatures, artificial chemicals, or advanced technology. What our robot cameras did detect was a large pyramid at the edge of a large lake. It appears to be long abandoned, since it’s overgrown with jungle foliage. “

“And our mission, should we decide to accept it, is to check it out?” O’Neill looked at his team. “You’re hoping we’ll find something we can use against the Goa’uld, or more information about their culture, history, plans, whatever.”

Hammond nodded, but his eyes were on Ellison and Sandburg. “And it’ll be the first chance for you to go through the Stargate. We’re not going to make contact with the natives. If the Goa’uld have not visited this planet since the arrival of that pyramid, they may not know its history. It won’t serve them or us to enlighten them. Danger should be minimal.” 

Sandburg nodded and glanced at Jim before looking at Hammond. “Nice to see the Prime Directive is still in effect.” 

Hammond looked at Sandburg, his face questioning the remark.

Jackson chuckled and looked at Jack. “He means Star Trek, the United Federation of Planets strongest rule.” 

O’Neill rolled his eyes. “I know what he means, Daniel. And if I remember correctly, the Prime Directive was broken more often than not.”

“But the intent was good. Noninterference is the best way to deal with other cultures. Observe, but don’t interfere.” 

“Unfortunately,” Hammond looked at Sandburg, then back at his colonel. “We don’t have the luxury of noninterference. But every now and then we get lucky.” Hammond slid a folder down the table to Colonel O’Neill, with a meaningful nod. “Here’s everything we have.” He checked his watch. “Sunrise is in eighteen hours. You go in, evaluate the pyramid, and leave at sunset. No contact with the inhabitants, if at all possible.” Hammond stood up and strode from the room before anyone could move. 

O’Neill pushed the folder to Jackson without looking at it. His eyes were on Ellison and Sandburg. “You guys ready for a walk in the woods?” 

Ellison glanced at Sandburg. “We’re still not sure why we’re here. In four weeks you’ve shared a lot of information, we’ve taken weapons training on the Goa’uld weapons and we’ve learned why Earth is threatened and what you’re doing about it. What we haven’t learned is why you wanted us?” 

Teal’C looked at Sandburg, then lowered his head barely before meeting the dark blues eyes again. “There are legends from ancient times, of humans chosen for their special talents and taken away to be used by the Goa’uld. When these humans were joined with a mature Goa’uld Symbiote, they became the greatest of all the Goa’uld leaders. The human’s abilities were enhanced a hundred-fold by the Goa’uld within. No planet could stand before armies led by such a person. The legends said that such an individual could only be joined to a Symbiote before he or she was bonded to a Shaman. Once bonded, this human could not be used by the Goa’uld. But it was not unknown for a Shaman to be killed to break the bonding.” Teal’C looked at Ellison’s face as the color drained from the chiseled face. “It is a very old legend. I may not remember it correctly,” he finished softly. 

Sandburg’s hand gripped Jim’s wrist and shook it. He looked at Teal’C, his eyes troubled. He turned his eyes to O’Neill and locked on the brown gaze. “That’s why you came looking for us. Daniel thinks that Jim is one of those ‘special humans’. If the Goa’uld believes the same thing, they may come looking. You wanted to put us someplace where we could be —” 

“Watched.” Jim finished. “We’re birds in a gilded cage, for our own protection, is that it? You show us the threat to the entire planet, knowing that we can’t deny our ability to help. What have you done? Advertised the existence of your own pet Sentinel to see if you can flush out a few Goa’uld sympathizers?” Ellison’s voice got louder. “Let your little Stargate grapevine know that a Goa’uld legend really exists? Put a target on my back? On Sandburg’s?” 

“It’s not like that —” Daniel started. 

Sandburg came to his feet at the same time Jim lurched to his. Through his grip on Ellison’s wrist he could feel the anger coursing through the man and the fine tremors of suppressed emotion. He looked at Jim and took a deep breath, breaking into Jim’s speech before the man could say something he would regret later. 

“Isn’t it? You told us that the leadership of the Goa’uld is in a turmoil. Hathor is dead. Apophis is missing. There is a System Lord named Sokar looking to make a power grab. If someone knew that Jim would be a temptation to a faction of the Goa’uld, what better bait could you have? If I understand things correctly a Symbiote sympathetic to the strongest fraction against Earth could be joined to Jim and he would have no choice but to fight for the Goa’uld. All his knowledge would become theirs. All his skills at the Goa’uld’s disposal. Isn’t that why you wanted us here? To protect him? To use him to your advantage?” 

“If he didn’t know that he was in danger, how could he have guarded against it?” Captain Carter looked at Sandburg, breaking her silence for the first time. “I have been a host, my father is one. We weren’t persuaded to join the Goa’uld.”

“Captain, nobody on this planet with the exception of the people at this base and a few people in Washington, know that we’re in danger. If a Goa’uld came looking for Jim, we would have fought him with all our resources.” 

“And you would have lost.” Colonel O’Neill spoke quietly, stopping Sandburg cold. “You would have either died, or been taken as an unwilling host. And we —” he waved around the table “— wouldn’t have known anything about it. Then we would have to fight you and yours sometime in the future. We would rather risk you thinking that you are our prisoners for your own good, then take the chance of losing you to a Goa’uld and the evil they represent.”

Ellison stared at O’Neill. Neither man backed down. Jim felt trapped, as if the weight of Cheyenne Mountain was collapsing around him, almost to the point he couldn’t breathe. His skin registered Sandburg’s cold fingers wrapped around his wrist. His ears heard his guide’s voice murmuring to him, urging Jim to hang on, not to lose it, not here, not now. Colonel O’Neill’s eyes were soft, the gaze open, honest. 

Teal’C broke the standoff. “Captain Ellison. If you were captured by the Goa’uld, you would be given no choice to your future. Your Shaman would die and you would be tortured until your spirit broke. Then you would be joined with a mature Goa’uld. Your mind and soul would be stripped away. I believe that General Hammond is a honorable man. If you and your Shaman demand to leave tomorrow, you would be free to do so. And if you were captured by the Goa’uld, we would do everything possible to rescue you. Your freedom has not been taken from you. The choice to go or stay is still yours. As it is mine. I choose to stay because I believe my people have a better chance of becoming free of the Goa’uld if I fight with the humans of Earth, then if I do not.” 

Ellison looked at the eyes staring at him. He ended his circle of the table with his partner. He unlocked Blair’s hand from his arm. “I need to take a walk. Chief, I promise, I won’t go out of the complex without you.” 

Sandburg nodded, but did not sit down until Ellison closed the door behind him. He slid back into his seat and looked at Teal’C, then Daniel. He sighed and ran his hands through his hair, pulling free the ponytail as he went. “Teal’C, why? Why am I so important to him? You said I had to be bonded to Jim. How do you know that I am? How do you know what the bonding means? How do you know that a bonding has happened?”

Teal’C looked at Sandburg and blinked. “I speak from legend and childhood stories. I do not know if what I remember is in fact, truth or myth. However, I can see the link between you. I have read of what you humans call auras. I understand that it is something that exists for each individual. My people lost that ability long ago, according to the ancient texts. But I have read of the ability in your people. I cannot see them, but I can sense them if they are strong enough. It is like an energy field around each body. Colonel O’Neill and Dr. Jackson were the first people I encountered with an aura strong enough for me to detect. You and Captain Ellison share an aura. It joins the two of you together and flows between you, always balanced when you are close to each other. The old legends speak of those you call Sentinel and their Shamans. To bond a Sentinel to a Shaman, the Shaman must experience death, and the Sentinel must return the Shaman to life. This happened with you, did it not?” 

Sandburg nodded, his head dropped almost to his chest. “I drowned. Jim called me back. He was a black jaguar, I was a wolf. We leaped toward each other and there was this burst of light. Then I was on the ground, spitting up water. Everyone else had given up on me.” 

O’Neill got up and walked around the room. He paused at the door and through the door window he finger-signed to the security police stationed there to follow Ellison, using the sign for ‘protect’, not detain. Then he looked at Sandburg and sighed, “Regardless of how Ellison is feeling about things right now, we have a mission to do.”

“Daniel, look over the info and see what we need, if anything beyond our standard gear. Meet back here in two hours for a mission brief, then we’ll have dinner and get some sleep. We want to be planetside at dawn.” O’Neill held the door open and ushered everyone out except Sandburg. He waited a moment, and when Blair didn’t move, the colonel closed the door and came back to his seat. “You want to talk about it?” 

 

Jim paused at the intersection of two corridors, not really sure where he wanted to go, just knowing that he couldn’t stay where he was. The weight of the mountain pressed on him, making it hard to breathe. Too many things demanded that he get out, Get Out! GET OUT! His hesitation on choices wasn’t something he was used to. 

Jim leaned against the hard metal wall for a second, letting his hands feel the cold of the metal. Fingertips picked up the vibration of equipment within the mountain and for a moment he let touch follow the different feelings. The deep rumble of air fans, the thin high squeal of electric pumps powering elevators or conveyors, even the thump of elevator doors opening and closing. But the strongest tremor was from the Stargate itself. Every time a chevron locked in, he felt it. 

The first time the artificial wormhole opened the sensations brought him to his knees, and he didn’t even know what it was. They had been escorted to Cheyenne Mountain like visiting dignitaries. Ellison and Sandburg had been ushered into visiting quarters so they could drop their bags. Then they had been guided to a neat clerical station where they were given visitor’s passes and the ‘Welcome to Stargate Command’ speech. While O’Neill talked about the Command, the Stargate had activated. Jim went to his knees, hands clapped over his ears. Blair caught him as he fell, demanding to know what was wrong. Jim could only shake his head, eyes clamped shut, hands over his ears. Jim could feel his heart slam against his ribs and some type of vibration shook him through his feet and knees. It was several minutes before Jim fought through the overwhelming sensations. He accepted Blair’s help to his feet and the two men stared at O’Neill. O’Neill stared back, then shook his head at Jim’s reaction to the Stargate, even at the distance they were from it. 

Footsteps interrupted Jim’s thoughts and he stepped around the corner and waited. A measured pace came closer, then paused, before starting again. Jim waited until the fatigue covered soldier was one step past him. Jim tapped the airman wearing SP’s insignia on the shoulder, then moved, following the soldier’s motion and stayed behind him. He tapped the shoulder again. The SP whirled, his firearm across his body. Ellison stared at him, arms crossed, but with a twinkle in his eyes. 

“Captain Ellison! Sir —!” The young man was frustrated by the grinning man in front of him. He was supposed to be protecting him, not letting Jim get the drop on him. 

“I haven’t been Captain Ellison in a long time. Stand down, Airman.” 

“Yes sir. Sorry sir.” After a moment the airman lowered his rifle to his side, then on second thought, placed it across his shoulders with the sling. 

“Are you my guard, my escort, or my jailer?” Jim’s eyes lost their twinkle and he lowered his arms to his side, rocking on his feet for a second. The soldier was wearing body armor and Jim plotted out the man’s weak spots unconsciously. 

“Guard, sir. Colonel O’Neill —” 

“— didn’t want me to wander around alone.” 

The soldier whose name tag proclaimed him to be a Thomas, nodded. 

“Very well, Airman Thomas, where can I go to see outside?” 

Thomas looked at the imposing man in front of him. He blinked a couple of times, then snapped to attention. “This way, sir.” 

Ellison fell in step with his escort. “Thomas, tell me about Stargate Command, from your point of view. How long have you been stationed here?” 

 

“Did Daniel talk you into bringing Jim and I here, using the argument you just used?” Blair looked at the colonel, his eyes delving into the older man’s soul. 

“No. Daniel only researched the background of Sentinels. Teal’C was the one who convinced General Hammond to approach you.” 

“Does he really believe Jim is in danger? Does he believe the legends he can barely remember?” 

“Teal’C has been very helpful with his memory of obscure stories and legends. Between Daniel and Teal’C, we’ve managed to figure out a dozen cultures, legends about the Norse gods, like Thor. Ra, Hathor, Seth, from ancient Egypt, and I don’t know how many more. So I’d listen to him, even when he only remembers pieces.”

Blair shook his head and focused on his folded hands, trying to remember something he considered important. The light bulb came on. “Why does he bow to me all the time?” 

O’Neill shook his silver head and leaned back in his seat. He looked at the dark blue eyes that were following his every movement. “Teal’C told me according to Goa’uld beliefs a shaman or priest has the power of life or death in their hands. A priest chooses the host for a Goa’uld larva. A priest chooses which larva the host will receive. If Teal’C remembers the legend of the Sentinels captured and used by the Goa’uld correctly, then a Shaman bonded to his sentinel often committed the ultimate sacrifice by dying. A bonded Sentinel was useless unless the bond was broken. So his Shaman — died.” 

Blair never blinked. “I would die for Jim. And to protect him from a life as a slave, I’d kill him myself.” The words were quiet in the room. 

“Blair, we will never let the Goa’uld have Jim. Having the two of you working for us only ensures Jim’s safety. I hope you can convince him of that.” Colonel O’Neill got up and held the door open for the civilian. Blair didn’t answer, only nodded. He pushed his chair away from the table and followed the colonel from the conference room.


	3. Chapter 3

Jim stood at the entryway to a park nestled next to a small side entrance to Cheyenne Mountain. His escort had led to an elevator and then punched in a floor, then a code. From the elevator, they took a series of stairs to a hidden exit. Now Ellison stood on a gravel path, looking at towering firs and thick shrubbery. 

“A lot of us can’t handle being inside and underground all the time. The park is within the base fence and has surveillance cameras in the trees. There are no gates in the fence and the only way into the park is this door. If you follow the path, there is a small campground and picnic area. There’s even a lake. Not very big, but it is stocked.”

Jim walked out on the path for a few feet, then stepped into the woods and rested a hand against the trunk of a gnarled, wind-twisted spruce. He closed his eyes and just stood. 

Thomas remained at the door, resting against the wall, eyes scanning the area. Jim had questioned him about how he viewed his duty at the Stargate. Thomas answered truthfully, telling him about some of the missions, the good and the bad. Jim questioned him about what he saw the SGC’s mission goal was. The young man’s answers pleased Jim and helped soothe some of Ellison’s misgivings. 

“Captain Ellison, I think we should go back. I’m sure the colonel is wondering where we are.”

Ellison didn’t answer. When he’d touched the old tree, a rain forest jungle materialized around him. The jaguar was there. Its teeth were bared and fur was raised in hackles as it spit and hissed at something Jim didn’t see. As he watched, a gray wolf darted from the undergrowth and rushed past the snarling cat. It dashed past a rock and came back with a snake. The wolf proceeded to shake the snake until it went limp. Then the wolf smashed it against a rock and dropped it. The wolf turned to the jaguar and touched noses, then licked an ear. The jaguar finally calmed and leaned into the wolf. He started to purr with a raspy rumble. 

“Captain Ellison.” Thomas touched Ellison on the arm and stumbled back when Ellison jerked toward him. Thomas cleared his throat. “I think we should go back now.” 

Jim looked at the young man, then at the tree he was leaning on. He nodded. “Yes, I think you’re right.” He started toward the door. “I need to talk to Colonel O’Neill.” 

 

Blair Sandburg and Daniel Jackson looked up from the computer screen as Jim stepped into Daniel’s lab. His uniformed escort stayed in the door until Daniel nodded a dismissal. 

Blair’s eyes were on Jim. He scooted from the stool he was perched on to Jim’s side and looked up at his friend. He touched the Sentinel’s arm, suddenly worried. “Jim? What is it?” 

Jim looked down at his partner and tried to force a smile. He touched the firm chin with two fingers, soaking in the warmth radiating from his friend. “We have to talk,” Jim’s voice whispered for Blair’s ears only. 

Sandburg looked into the crystal blue eyes. “You’ve seen something,” his voice barely whispered. “The jaguar? The wolf?” 

“Both.” The pale eyes were troubled. 

Blair’s gaze never left Jim’s eyes as he called to Daniel, “Give us a few minutes, Daniel. We’ll be right back.” He grabbed Jim’s elbow and turned him toward the hallway. He ignored Thomas who was lounging in a corner. 

Jim, however, caught the soldier’s eye and nodded. The airman fell in behind the pair, keeping a discreet distance so as not to eavesdrop. 

“Jim, what happened? What did you see?”  
“The jaguar, being attacked by a snake. The wolf saved it.” 

“And the snake is —?”  
“I think it’s a Goa’uld. Daniel has those images of the Goa’uld larva in various stages.” 

“So you think we’re in danger.”

“Chief, even if I didn’t — you do. The wolf was pretty successful in defeating the snake.” 

“So — do we stay — or go — and take our chances on our own?” 

Jim paused his long stride down the hall and looked at his partner. “Chief —” he stumbled on his answer. “If everything we’ve seen, heard, or read, is true, I don’t see how we can not stay. If we need the protection, they need our strengths. I don’t think we have a choice.” 

Blair’s eyes focused on Jim’s and held them. “I won’t let them touch you, Jim. I swear.” 

“I’m not worried about that, Sandburg. If Teal’C is only remembering a fairy tale, maybe the rest of the bad guys think it’s a fairy tale and not some version of the truth.” 

Blair nodded. “So we go on the mission.” 

Jim tapped a cheek. “We go. We do our job, whatever that may be. We wait on any further decisions until we see how this mission goes.” The pair went back to the lab. Daniel had been joined by Jack and Teal’C. 

Jack looked up at their entrance and arched an eyebrow to Jim in question. Jim gave the colonel a quick thumbs up behind Sandburg’s back and leaned against a computer counter. Jack nodded and went back to his discussion with Daniel. “As I was saying, standard equipment plus the scanner programmed with the languages we’ve found and translated so far. It may give us a leg up on when the pyramid was left there, and why. Meet at the Stargate briefing room at 0500. That’ll give us forty-five minutes to get planetside before sunrise. Any questions?” Jack looked around his team, minus Carter. They all nodded. 

“If anyone is interested, the pizza in the café is good tonight and there is a football game on the big screen TV in the library.” The men looked at each other. 

“Pizza is good.” 

“Who’s playing?” 

“Who’s favored?” 

“I have yet to learn the strategy for this game.”

Colonel O’Neill stepped between Jim and Blair and clapped both men on the shoulders. “Good, pizza and football. A great male bonding evening.” 

 

“Jim?” the voice whispered in the darkness. 

“Huh?”

“Are you awake?” 

“I am now.” Bed clothes rustled. “What’s wrong?” 

“Worried, scared, excited, can’t sleep.” 

“Chief. 0500 will come real fast.” 

“I know.” Silence. “Jim, what are the chances?” 

“Chances about what?” 

A heavy sigh filled the room, followed by a pillow thumping sound. “Chances that we would end up here, like this?” 

 

Another sigh. “What were the chances you would find a Sentinel?”  
“Don’t know. Way up there. I gave up trying to figure it out.” 

Silence. 

“Jim?”

“Yeah, Chief.?” 

“Do you regret everything that’s happened since we met?” 

“I think the word is ‘anything’, not ‘everything’.” 

“Do you?” 

“Do I what?” 

“Regret anything?” 

“Chief, it’s 2 a.m. Why are you searching your soul now? We have a mission in a few hours.” 

“Mind won’t turn off.” 

“Move over.”

“Huh?” 

“Move over. You obviously need a little help sleeping.” 

“Jim? I know we’ve been playing…, uh, teasing … each other, with this, but don’t you think that we need to talk about this first. I mean, we’ve got a mission in a few hours.” 

The sounds of blankets being moved and bare feet on a carpeted floor, followed by bodies settling next to each other and getting comfortable filled the darkness for a few minutes. 

“Better?” 

“You’re warm. Hmmm, you keep rubbing my scalp like that and I’ll fall asleep.” 

“That’s the intention.” 

“What about —?” 

“Sleep, Blair. We’ve got a mission in the morning.” 

“Don’t I get a kiss at least?” 

“Just a kiss, babe?” 

Wet, heavy breathing filled the silence between them. 

“Night, Chief.” 

“Hmm, night.” 

 

0500 was much too early in Blair’s opinion and he voiced his objection several times. Jim just smiled and refilled Blair’s coffee mug for the third time and handed him a fruit laden granola bar. 

Colonel O’Neill entered the briefing room in full battle gear, including a high powered rifle over his shoulder. Teal’C followed him, energy lance at his side. Carter and Jackson were already there, staring into their coffee mugs.

“Good morning, everyone. Glad to see you’re so bright and eager this hour of the morning.” O’Neill snagged his own coffee mug and quietly acknowledged Jim’s relaxed parade rest stance behind Sandburg’s chair. 

Daniel glared at O’Neill. “If you say so.” He got up and refilled his mug. He looked at the carafe, the mostly empty mugs on the table and brought the carafe with him. 

O’Neill sat at the head of the table and looked around him. “Overnight airborne camera surveillance detected heat signatures of several campfires in a two mile radius of the pyramid. We believe the fires are from small groups, maybe hunting parties. Our instructions are still the same, avoid contact with the natives if at all possible. So, if there is nothing else, finish your coffee and let’s saddle up.”

“Colonel O’Neill, I am still waiting for your definition of ‘saddle up’.” 

“Sandburg, could you explain to Teal’C what I mean?” 

He started ushering the team out of the door, purposely putting Teal’C and Sandburg in front of himself and Ellison. He murmured to Ellison, “Teal’C will guard Sandburg with his life. So don’t worry so much.” 

Ellison arched an eyebrow at the colonel but remained silent. From behind them, Daniel called out, “Maybe Blair will have more luck explaining American slang than I have.” 

The gate was spinning as they stepped through the wide armored doors. The technicians above their heads called out each chevron as it locked. 

Blair tore his eyes off the artifact and looked at Jim. The Sentinel was holding one ear and squinting. Blair was beside his partner in one step. He grabbed Jim’s arm. “Can you handle it?” 

“There’s a lot of high pitched whistles and harmonics, Chief. They oscillate up and down my hearing range.”

Sandburg reached into his pocket and pulled out a jeweler’s box. He flipped it open and offered a pair of earplugs equipped with white noise generators. “Daniel and I have been working on these. They’re a little different from the ones you’ve used before, a little stronger. They should block the worst and your controls should handle the rest.” 

Jim took the tiny transmitters and placed them in his ears. After a moment, he relaxed and nodded. “Helps a lot, Chief. Thanks.” 

“That’s what I’m here for, man.” Blair turned back to the Stargate just as the wormhole opened and a pulse of energy exploded from the center. The explosion settled to a pool of shimmering, glimmering light. “Man! Do you ever get used to that?” Blair asked Daniel, his eyes wide. 

“Not yet.” Daniel hoisted his rifle a little higher as he looked at the shimmering pool. 

Blair turned back to Jim. “Okay?” 

Jim nodded, then glanced at his partner. “Lots of strange colors, vibrations, coming from the gate. I don’t know how to describe it.” The Sentinel looked at O’Neill. “What’s it like to step through it?” 

Jack shrugged. “A kaleidoscope, I guess. You get this impression you are moving and then you’re through. As far as we can tell there is no time involved, or at least nothing we’ve been able to measure.” 

Blair listened to Jack’s words but his eyes never left Jim’s face. His hand wrapped around Jim’s wrist. Jim’s eyes flickered to Blair’s but remained focused to the colonel. When Jack’s words stopped, Jim turned his attention on Blair. 

“Any suggestions, Chief?” 

“You’re asking me?” Blair tried wide-eyed innocence and when that didn’t work, he shrugged. “Besides dialing down your hearing and sight, I have no idea.” 

Jim shifted the rifle over his shoulder then turned his hand so he could take Blair’s and laced their fingers together. “Just stay close.” Jim’s eyes were serious. 

“You’ve got it, partner.” Blair looked around them for a second, but nobody was watching them. SG-1 was facing the Stargate, adjusting their packs and helmets. Like Daniel, Blair was wearing a floppy brim camouflage hat, fatigues and a back pack. Jim wore fatigues, a light kevlar vest, and like Jack, a uniform baseball cap. He carried a high-powered military rifle and a handgun in a holster on his hip. 

Sandburg carried a Goa’uld Zatgun and a staff, weighted and balanced for his size. 

Sandburg’s choice of weapons was an ongoing argument. Jim and Jack insisted that Blair go through weapons training on every firearm that SGC used. Blair acquiesced and qualified for marksman level skills, but resisted carrying a weapon capable of deadly force. General Hammond offered a compromise. Blair now carried a Zatgun instead of a rifle and, after accepting staff training from Teal’C, been presented with the staff he carried. Teal’C had explained he’d requested his mentor Bra’tac, to acquire it for the young human. Sandburg had accepted it with graciousness. 

“Ready to go, gentlemen?” Colonel O’Neill called to his team. They assembled at the base of the ramp. O’Neill led the way, with Daniel and Sam behind him. Jim and Blair followed, and Teal’C brought up the rear. Ellison and Sandburg paused at the Stargate and without a word, took a deep breath, then stepped through, hands still joined. 

O’Neill emerged to pink light and a rose sky. His weapon was ready before he was aware he’d stepped on rough rock. Daniel and Sam emerged beside him, guns also ready. O’Neill turned as his newest members arrived. Traveling through a Stargate the first time was unnerving for everyone. He had no idea how someone with heightened senses would react. Sentinel and Shaman came through together, both stumbling on the rocks leading to the gate. Ellison’s eyes were clenched shut and he gripped Sandburg’s hand in a locked vise grip.

Sandburg blinked rapidly once or twice but immediately turned to his partner. “Jim? Jim? Come on back, man. We’re through. Quite a rush, wasn’t it? Jim, you’re breaking my hand here.” The vise sprung open and Blair shook his hand, still murmuring to his Sentinel. 

After a few more seconds, Jim took a deep breath and opened his eyes. He blinked at the team gathered around him, then looked at Blair. He took a couple more breaths and nodded to Sandburg. 

“Quite a rush.” Blair grinned. “You all right?” 

“Quite a rush puts it mildly, Chief.” Ellison looked at O’Neill, eyebrow rising. “I take it that you get used to that.” 

Jack shrugged. “Not really.” 

Ellison shook his head then looked around him. The Stargate stood in a jungle, the ring barely visible in the overhanging vines and towering trees. Directly in front of the gate stood the charred stumps of several trees seared to the ground by the energy of the wormhole opening. The base of the gate seemed to be carved from huge blocks of black rock. The DHD was overgrown with growth and Teal’C and Daniel were clearing the vines and leaves off it. Daniel used a machete, cutting the woody growths and pulling lengths away from the metal and stone mechanism, while Teal’C depended on brute strength. After a few minutes, Daniel pressed the controls necessary to check to see if it worked and when it glowed to life, he nodded at Jack. 

Sam walked around the Stargate, gun at ready as she surveyed the area. She finished her circuit of the area and shouldered her rifle as she came back to the group standing in front of the gate. “There’s no sign of anyone using this area recently. No fresh trails, no fire rings, no cut trees. I can’t see the pyramid from here, but I have the coordinates from our robot surveys.” 

Jim looked around, eyes seeing the untouched jungle as far as he could see in the morning haze. “Then let’s move out.” He looked at the colonel with a quirk of his lips. He had to watch his tendency to take over. 

Jack acknowledged the slip and looked at Captain Carter. “Which way, Captain?” 

Sam took point, using a calibrated compass adjusted for that planet’s magnetic field. Her machete flashed in the sun as she cut her way into the jungle, Daniel at her side, adding his own blade to the effort. Ellison scanned the area in his own fashion. Sandburg waited at his partner’s side, trying to add his own senses to Jim’s scan. After a moment Jim nodded and started after the others, Teal’C acting as rear guard. 

“What did you sense, Jim?” 

“Campfires, about two miles away. Nothing close.” Jim’s nose flared. “Smoke on the breeze,” he murmured softly. “We’re downwind of them.” 

Jack dropped back to Jim’s side as they worked their way through the thick undergrowth. “Just how sensitive is that nose of yours, Ellison?” 

“You’d have to ask Sandburg. He’s the one with all the notebooks.” Jim smiled at his partner then held a limb out of the way for the small group. Sandburg swung his machete with a easy stroke, widening the path that Daniel and Sam started. It was warm, but not humid yet. The sun was barely over the horizon as they worked toward the pyramid. Sam and Daniel’s voices drifted around them as the two scientists commented on a bird or plant.

“It’s a good thing we’re heading away from the native camp with as much noise as we’re making,” Jim commented at a rest break. 

He remained standing, rifle at guard while Teal’C did the same on the other side of the four bodies resting on the ground. The rest of the group sprawled on the moss and vines, panting and drinking water. The three trail-makers compared blisters from the machetes.  
Sam pulled a scarf from her pack and ripped it in half. She handed half to Daniel then looked at Sandburg with an apologetic shrug. Blair smiled back, to tired to really comment on how blistered his hands were, how much his shoulders ached or how much this jungle reminded him of Earth’s Peruvian rain forest. 

Hands fumbled in his backpack and a small first aid kit was handed over Sandburg’s shoulder. Blair turned his head to see Jim removing vest and shirt, then untucking his tee shirt and peeling out of it as well. Strong arms flexed and the green cotton fabric parted at a seam. In seconds the tee shirt was reduced to a couple of rags. Jim handed Sandburg one, then wrapped the other one around his head, tying it in the back. Blair smiled at his sentinel, loving seeing Jim Ellison disappear as the primitive jungle warrior emerged. 

“Where’s your grease paint?” Blair whispered to his Sentinel. 

“In a pocket.” Jim redonned the kevlar vest, minus the fatigue shirt. The heavy shirt was folded neatly and tucked into Blair’s pack. The former cop waited while Sandburg passed the tube of ointment around for their hands and then repacked the first aid kit into its place in the pack. 

Blair wrapped the strip of shirt over his palms and tied it in place. He caught Sam eyeing Jim’s impressive arms and grinned at the Air Force Captain. “Down, Sam. He goes for redheads and curls,” Blair whispered loudly to the woman. 

Sam looked at Blair and blinked. “I can be a redhead.” 

Blair glared. Sam glared back, then her eyes widened and she turned quickly away. Blair smiled and caught Jim’s eyes. Jim’s lips moved upward in a silent smirk while he shook his head at his smug and grinning partner. 

Colonel O’Neill climbed to his feet and brushed off his butt. “Everyone ready to move on? It’s not going to get any cooler.” He took a final swig out of his canteen and passed it to Ellison who finished it and clipped it to his belt at the back. O’Neill pulled on his baseball cap and shades. Before he took a step in the direction they were heading, Jim’s arm blocked the movement. 

“Ellison?” 

Jim was looking into the distance, eyes slightly out of focus. “We’ve got company, about 500 hundred yards.” 

Blair hustled to his feet and to Jim’s side. “What are you hearing?” 

“Three voices. They’re heading our way.” Jim blinked and looked at the group. Then he looked at the hacked and mutilated trail behind them. His eyes drifted over the group. They landed on Teal’C. “Teal’C, can you lead this group to the pyramid without leaving a trail? No more cutting our way through everything.” Jim looked at the colonel and looked contrite for a moment. “I’m sorry, Colonel O’Neill, but I can’t see you moving through a forest without a tank.” 

Jack shrugged. “Don’t worry about it. I’m used to people taking over my command. Happens all the time.” His tone was opposite to his words. 

“I’m sorry, Colonel. I —” 

“He was doing what a Sentinel does, Colonel.” Blair interrupted. “Protecting his tribe, making decisions. He means no disrespect —” 

“Chief, I can talk for myself.” Jim’s hand landed on Blair’s shoulder. “Sorry, Colonel, he’s a little overprotective.” 

“Are you ever gonna call me Jack?” O’Neill sighed. When neither man spoke, Jack nodded. “I noticed his protective streak. It’s almost as wide as yours.” He looked at his team, who without a conscious effort had drifted around him. Daniel was behind one shoulder, Teal’C the other one. Jack grinned at his people, then faced Ellison again. “We’ll head for the temple. You investigate our company, and catch up with us.” 

Jim nodded silently, touched Blair on the back and the two of them disappeared into the thick growth.

Jack blinked at their exit. He looked at his team. “Did you see that? They just — vanished.” Jack shook his head. “Think we can learn that?” 

Teal’C nodded. “Jungle skills must be learned, honed and protected. They obviously have done all three.” Then Teal’C herded his group in the direction Sam’s compass showed the pyramid lay. 

Sandburg followed the Sentinel deeper into the undergrowth, placing his feet into Jim’s tracks, moving as silently as possible. Jim eased limbs aside, brushed palm fronds away from them with little movement and froze every three or four steps, listening. Jim touched Blair on the arm, motioned ‘down’ with a flat hand and then went to his belly. Sandburg followed Ellison’s example and the two men slithered side by side through a large clump of elephant grass. They froze at approaching voices and Jim shifted a round leaf so they could peer under it and not be seen. 

Two natives carrying a deer suspended between them were approaching on a game path. They were talking between themselves, making no effort to hide their presence. 

Sandburg smiled at their clothing or almost lack of. Loin cloths of tanned hides were tied around slender hips. Their chests were covered in various painted designs and heavy leather throngs carrying claws, shells and polished stones. The man in front sported a bow and quiver across his shoulder. The man in the rear had a spear in one hand and a knife strapped to his thigh. Both men sported paint on their faces, colorful feathers tied into coal black hair and a heavy stone earring. Sandburg’s eyes left the two natives and turned to Jim. 

The Sentinel was frozen in place, eyes closed, but his mouth slightly open, head cocked to one side. Blair recognized Jim’s listening pose and touched Jim on the arm, grounding him. Jim shook his head, then opened his eyes. The pale blue ones met the darker blue ones and twinkled slightly at the excitement on his partner’s face. Jim motioned ‘back’ with his hand and they wiggled backwards a few feet, then froze again until the hunters passed out of Jim’s hearing range. Jim climbed to his feet and pulled Sandburg to his. He placed his finger on his guide’s lips, requesting silence. Together they retraced their steps back to the small clearing. There, Jim paused, listening intently. Satisfied as to what he heard, he started in a different direction. 

“Can you hear them?” Sandburg asked his sentinel, speaking in a bare whisper. 

Jim nodded. “They found the pyramid. Daniel is talking about the similarities to Mayan architecture, Jack is looking for a way in.” Jim grinned at his partner. “Jack just told Daniel to be quiet, he’s making enough noise to wake the dead.” 

“Is that how I sound to you?” 

“Sometimes, Chief.” Jim held a large palm frond out of their way. “But you’re getting better.” The sentinel stopped and pointed. “Can you see their trail?” 

Blair studied the jungle in front of them. After a minute, he picked up signs of disturbance. He pointed. “There.” 

Jim nodded. “Now look behind us. Our trail parallels theirs. Can you see it?” 

Blair studied the greenery behind them and finally shook his head. 

Jim nodded. “Good.” 

They stopped before they came within sight of their companions and settled into the undergrowth and watched them. 

“Why are we waiting?” Blair watched as Sam pulled another long vine from a rock stairway. 

Jim shrugged. “I just wanted to get an idea of the lay of the land. We’ve only known these people for a month, Chief. For all our training, for all our briefings, I’m not sure how much I believe.” 

“What about this?” Blair nodded toward the pyramid. “And how we got here?” he pointed back toward the Stargate. 

“This is real, Chief. I know that. It’s the other things I’m having trouble with. The legend Teal’C told us, or fairy tale, if you want to look at it that way. Aliens using humans for hosts, and seeking out ancient humans, like me, for their own purposes. My vision of our spirit animals fighting some terrible evil. I never was good at the mystical side of this Sentinel thing, Chief. You know that.” 

Jim pointed at the group in front of them, the pyramid they were exploring, then waved his hand to take in their surroundings. “Is all this, part of being a Sentinel? Is this why you haven’t found any Sentinels in a hundred years since Burton’s original discovery? Has everyone like me been forced into slavery somewhere else, some other planet?” Jim looked back at his partner, who was studying him with wide eyes. “Or am I just going crazy?”

Sandburg looked back at the pyramid, his gaze locked on a recognizable symbol that Sam and Jack were uncovering. He gripped Jim’s arm. “Jim, I think that maybe, in this day and age, you being a Sentinel is a warning of things to come. If Sentinels were killed, kidnapped or destroyed by someone else a hundred years ago, maybe you being here, now, is because this planet is going to need you.” 

“Sandburg, I am not the Messiah, or God, or Jesus, or anyone else of religious importance. So drop that line of thought right now!” 

“I never said you were. But look at that.” Blair pointed at the vine-less section of rock wall. 

Jim followed the pointing hand with his eyes. Sam and Jack had cleared a huge eye carved into the gray and white rock. Jim sagged against Sandburg’s arm for a second, then straightened. “Let’s go.” He pushed into the small cleared area, followed closely by his partner. 

The SG team stopped their exploration at the base of the partially cleared staircase when Sandburg and Ellison approached them. 

“What did you see?” Jack cradled his rifle in one arm, and wiped the sweat off his forehead before jamming his baseball cap back on. His sunglasses dangled from the cord around his neck. He and the rest of the team had removed their packs and kevlar to make it easier to work. All of them were filthy and sweaty, with the exception of Teal’C who was just filthy. 

“It was a hunting party. They kept going.” Jim climbed the stairs and looked at the partially cleared wall. “What have you found?” 

Daniel bounced up the stairs behind Ellison, leaving Sandburg looking up at the symbol in the stone. He didn’t want the memories crashing back on him. Even though they were a year old, they still held the power to send his heart racing. 

“Calm down, Chief,” Ellison called from the top of the stairs. “I’m not having any problems with this.”  
Sam stepped to Blair’s side and stared up at Ellison and Jackson. She brushed her sweaty brow and smiled at the newest man in their team. “What does he mean by that? What does he know that we don’t?” 

“Last year, that symbol, on another stone temple, almost cost me my life. The memories aren’t pleasant.” 

“How did he know you were upset?” Sam kept glancing back and forth. 

Blair shrugged. “He heard my heartbeat spike.” 

Daniel watched Ellison as the cop stared at the symbol. “You know, we’ve proven links between humans on Earth and about a dozen other planets. This is just another piece of proof. We know that primitive humans were taken to other planets as slaves. We also know that in ancient times, a lot of so-called gods in our mythology, are really a couple species of aliens.” 

Ellison shot a glance at the archaeologist. “So, you think I’m either one of the offspring of enhanced humans who managed to escape your aliens’ clutches, or the offspring of a genetic experiment that fell through the cracks a long time ago.” Jim’s tone wasn’t accusing, just tired. He reached up to the eye and traced it with one hand. This symbol also held painful memories for him, just like Sandburg. He glanced back at his partner who stood looking up at him. Sandburg had been joined by Teal’C on one side and Sam on the other. O’Neill was halfway up the stairs, climbing to join them. Ellison shook his head. Now was not the time to discuss what happened to him in a temple on another planet. 

“I didn’t say that. I just wanted you to know that the possibilities are endless. Don’t be afraid of what you don’t know.” 

That statement from Daniel did bring a glare and snarl. “How do you know what I’m afraid of, Dr. Jackson?”

“Because if I were in your shoes, I’d be terrified.” Daniel’s honest answer did a lot to calm the Sentinel. “I found my wife on another planet that was a slave colony for these aliens. I lost my wife to these aliens. Anything we find, that can be useful in our battle for our planet, is worth a little terror.” Daniel’s gaze did not penetrate the blue iciness of Ellison’s eyes. “This is another reason we came to you. Your abilities may make a huge difference.”

Ellison didn’t answer the man. He turned back to the symbol and studied it for a moment. It was larger across then he could reach, and the upper part of the eye was almost over his head. The stone it was carved from was cracked with veins of iron, rusted out and bleeding down the gray rock. The inside edge of the eye contained a carved teardrop, the outside edge a triangle. Jim’s hand traced the rough carving. He stepped back, looked at it again. He glanced at Sandburg who was deep in conversation with the pair with him. 

“What are you thinking, Ellison?” O’Neill asked, not liking the look in Jim’s eyes. “Do you know a way in?”

“Probably.” Jim touched the teardrop and triangle at the same time, stretching his fingertips to do so. Daniel saw Ellison’s intention and reached up to help. Jim nodded at the help. “Together.”

Both men pushed and the small stones shifted inward, slightly. Jim grunted, “Again.” 

The second push slipped the rocks completely out of sight, their arms dis- appearing up to their elbows. From inside there was a grinding, groaning noise. Then the center iris of the stone eye moved inward. It stopped after a couple of inches.  
Daniel groaned. “That was a lot of help.” 

Jim didn’t say anything. He traced the exposed inches with sensitive fingertips. Then a slightly smaller, square fingered hand landed on top of his. Jim glanced at his partner. Blair was panting from climbing the stairs at a dead run. 

“Don’t you dare do this without me at your side, man! Do you have any idea what you could be opening?” Sandburg’s words were a furious whisper. 

“As a matter of fact, I do, Chief. Remember, I got to the temple before you did. Alex was already inside. The stone was already open.” His fingers continued to slide around the stone lip, then stopped. “Feel it?” 

Sandburg nodded and shifted his stance a little to offer Jim his strength.

“Pull!” Jim commanded. Both men pulled on the depression Jim had found in the stone and the rock panel containing the eye turned and shifted, revealing a dark tunnel into the rock. The entryway was only inches wide, barely enough for a man to slip through. 

O’Neill looked at the dark rift in the stone. He glanced at the three men around him. “Does anybody else feel like Indiana Jones?” When his weak joke wasn’t answered, he became all business again. “Ellison, do you know what we will find inside?” 

“I have a pretty good idea, Colonel O’Neill. That is, if this temple is a duplicate of the one on Earth.” 

Jack unslung his rifle from his shoulder. “Then by all means lead the way.” 

Jim nodded and slipped his own rifle into position. A strong hand on his forearm stopped his forward motion. He turned and met cold blue eyes. “Not this time, Jim.” 

Blair’s voice booked no argument. “Here, the Shaman should lead the Sentinel into the temple.” Sandburg was already pulling a lantern from a pouch on his pack. 

“You sure about this, Chief? You don’t know what to expect inside. I do.” 

“You said that all ready,” he mumbled. “Jim, this feels right. I think this is one of those cases where you’ll just have to trust me.” The partners locked eyes, neither one willing to back down. Sandburg took matters into his own hands. He flipped on the lantern and slipped into the crack, staff held ready to use. 

“Sandburg, one of these days —” Jim hissed as he followed two steps behind his partner. 

Jack looked at Daniel. “You’re the archeologist. How come you’re not leading the way into an ancient temple?”

Daniel pulled his hat down on his forehead a little tighter. “Because he’s the Sentinel. In their world, I don’t come close to what they know.” He unslung his rifle, clipped a light to it and followed Ellison into the darkness.


	4. Chapter 4

Sam and Teal’C exchanged glances. Sam shrugged and watched as Teal’C followed Daniel. He had to turn sideways to fit through the rift.

Jack looked at Sam. “How do you feel about this Sentinel-Shaman thing? Is Ellison for real?” 

Sam rocked her shoulders. “Don’t know how I feel. But Teal’C believes it. In some things, if Teal’C believes it, that’s good enough for me.” She followed the Jaffa into the darkness, leaving Jack no choice but to follow. 

The temperature dropped ten degrees when Sandburg and Ellison stepped inside the stone gap. 

“Chief, slow down. You have no idea what is in here. There could be all sorts of booby traps.” Jim called as his eyes dilated to try and make use of any available light. The path into the temple was smooth stone. Blair’s flashlight cast a dim glow on the gray and white stone they passed through, revealing fractures and cracks in what was once a quarried stone. 

“Jim, you said the wolf protected the jaguar.” His voice echoed through the stone. “That means, I lead for once. You forget, I’ve studied stuff like this for years. If there are booby traps, I’m more likely to spot them than you are.” 

“Maybe so, Chief. But this is not the place to prove yourself to me. We’re too far from home for heroics.” 

The bouncing light stopped and aimed toward the ground. “Maybe I need to prove something to myself, Jim. Maybe I need to prove to myself that all my training, all my studying wasn’t for nothing.” 

Jim stopped at his partner’s side. He heard the uncertainly and pain buried deeply in Sandburg’s voice. His first reaction was to reach out to his partner and place his palm against the cool cheek. After he felt the damp, stubbled skin, it occurred to him that his touch might not be needed or appreciated at that moment. Sometimes, his need to touch his companion overrode the necessity of speech. “Chief, your training has been a huge asset to me, to Simon and to Cascade. Don’t doubt yourself on that account.” He raised his eyes to the stone over his head. “It wouldn’t matter if you knew nothing about ancient stone temples, or a thousand cultures, or a dozen languages. You’re here, with me. Your presence is more important than any amount of schooling.” He tapped the cheek with a fingertip. “I trust you,” he whispered in the darkness. “Above all others, before anyone else, I trust you.” 

They were interrupted by Daniel appearing in their small circle of light, adding his to it. The archeologist looked at the men. “Good thing you stopped. Temples like these are full of all sorts of traps.” 

Sandburg’s shoulders sagged under Jim’s hand. “We know, Daniel. We’ve been in one just like it.” He aimed his flashlight forward again and with Jim at his side started through the rock path and into the chamber they could barely see. 

Daniel followed the team, trying to look at both of them and into the darkness, all at the same time. “Did I say something wrong?” 

Sandburg stopped at the entrance to the temple interior and shone his flashlight around the almost dark chamber. Jim’s hand came down on Sandburg’s shoulder. 

“Turn off the light for a minute, Chief.” 

Sandburg did so without comment and waited for his eyes to adjust to the almost nonexistent light. Behind them, Daniel’s light made a cone of white before he slapped his hand over the beam. 

Jim heard voices behind them and knew they only had a few minutes before their moment in the darkness was lost. He stretched out his senses, trying to find what his instincts were screaming at him about. While the temple itself was not a danger, there was a very old danger represented by it. If only he could find it. 

“Do you see it?” Jim whispered in Sandburg’s ear. 

Blair’s eyes blinked and teared, trying to see into the darkness. “I see tiny slits of light in what looks like the roof. Maybe one slit in each direction?” 

“Okay, Chief. Turn on your light.” 

“Wait, Jim. What do you see?” 

“Not important. You’ll see it in a minute. Go ahead.” The fingers tightened on Sandburg’s shoulder for a second.

“Shield your eyes.” Blair covered the light as he turned it on, then slowly uncovered it, letting his and his sentinel’s eyes adjust. 

Daniel appeared beside them. “Does anyone want to explain what that was all about?” 

“No.” Sandburg’s voice was final. He was already moving, his light dancing over the rock walls, revealing carvings and painted scenes. 

Daniel stopped Ellison before the big man followed his partner. “What does he expect to see?” 

“The answer to why there were Sentinels a hundred years ago, and only one now.” Jim’s eyes followed the light as it raked over the remains of two man-size stone pools. The light hesitated for a second, then kept going. 

Daniel looked at Ellison, then brushed by him and added his light to Sandburg’s. 

Ellison heard the others behind him and waited for the rest of the team. His eyes followed Sandburg’s movements as he touched several stone carvings containing plumed serpents and crouching square faced cats. Jim could almost hear Sandburg’s thoughts as the man approached the empty stone basins. In another place and time, the pools were full of water and the source of visions. A deranged woman who wanted to see the ‘eye of God’ had used one, Jim the other. Jim had survived the experience intact. Alex had not. 

Daniel’s light illuminated a wall decorated with row after row of pictographs. Blair’s attention remained riveted on the empty pools until Daniel called him away. Jack and Teal’C, followed by Sam, came through the opening and stopped at Ellison’s side. 

Teal’C raised an eyebrow at the flashlight lit room in front of them. He looked at Ellison, then Colonel O’Neill. “Is there something wrong?” When they didn’t answer, the Jaffa joined the two scientists at the wall. Sam added her light, leaving Ellison and O’Neill in the shadows. 

O’Neill watched his team converse and run their fingers over the carvings and paintings. “Can you hear what they are saying?” 

Ellison nodded. “Dr. Jackson is comparing this temple to one found in South America.” 

“Is that good or bad?” Jack murmured. 

Jim shook his head. “I have no idea.” The two men joined the rest of the team. Jim studied the walls and corners hidden in the shadows. His superior eyesight looked for traps and hidden entryways. The hair was standing up on the back of his neck in warning, but his eyes saw nothing. 

“Jim, you gotta see this!” Blair’s voice echoed around the cavernous room. “This explains so much about Aztec history. You could spend years trying to decipher the writing.” 

Daniel chuckled. “More like the rest of your life.” He pulled a digital camera out of his pack, attached his light and started to film the interior walls. 

Jack looked around the room. He recognized a lot of the symbols from books on ancient civilizations he’d borrowed from Daniel over the years. But he had no idea what the two basins along one wall meant. Ellison seemed fascinated by them and kept looking from one to another. 

“Ellison, what does this mean?” He stepped into Ellison’s line of sight and pointed at the stone containers with the barrel of his gun. 

Jim opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He cleared his throat, tried again. “These pools were used by a Sentinel to focus their powers. Last year, I was forced to use one in Mexico. I saw some amazing things, some visions of the future, some that later came true. It was pretty traumatic.” 

“Why two pools?” 

Ellison shook his head. “I don’t know. But, Sandburg and I have a theory.” Jim looked over at Sandburg, who was deep in conversation with Teal’C. “We think that one pool is for the Sentinel, the other one for the Shaman, or the Sentinel’s partner.” Jim touched one stone wall gently. “But who knows.” His voice grew distant and soft and his eyes lost focus for a moment. 

Jack didn’t notice the momentary lapse. Jack walked around the stone pools. He knelt down at the end of one, and ran his hand up and down the rock. “Looks like there was a water source here.” His fingers pulled away rocks, leaves and roots, and revealed a hole in the rock about the size of his fist. After a few minutes, water started seeping into the hole and dripped down the rock. 

Ellison looked at the seepage. “Must have been a good size stream once, to keep two pools full.” He left Jack and went to Sandburg’s side. He’d faced his demons in those pools a long time ago. He didn’t need to see the reminder. 

Blair stopped his soft conversation with Teal’C when Jim joined him. His eyes were bright with excitement when he looked at Jim. “Jim, this proves that this tribe of natives at least knew of Sentinels. Look!” He traced a faded painting of a large ear followed by pictures of crickets and other insects. The next grouping was of an eye, followed by a mountain with a small man standing on it. Taste was shown by an open mouth and one drop of water; smell by a large nose and a tiny flower. Touch was represented by large hand and a stone with a tiny crack, and a stick with a small thorn. Blair touched each one, then looked at Jim. “The temple on Earth had paintings too faint to read. I wonder if they were the same.” 

“Maybe.” Jackson was nodding. “We’ve found that cultural ‘drifting’ only takes a few generations before a translation can be completely different. What we don’t know is if the architects of this temple were transplanted to Earth, or from Earth. That’s a mystery we’ll never solve.” 

“This one is pretty clear though.” Sam called from the pictograph she was studying.

The group gathered around her. The series of pictures showed a sacrifice in progress. But instead of a knife being held in a priest’s hand over a bound body, the priest held a long snake like creature. The victim on the stone was drawn in profile with enlarged ear, eye, nose and hand. The first picture showed the snake being held high over the victim’s head. The second showed the snake disappearing into the victim’s body. The third showed the victim standing upright, being draped in robes, a crown of rays placed on his head. There was a line of natives kneeling at his feet, and two men with snake heads, red eyes, and carrying staffs standing on either side of him. 

Daniel swallowed loud enough for everyone to hear. “That’s pretty straight forward.” He raised his camera and started filming again. 

Sam nodded, but shifted her light. “Blair, look at this one. I don’t think you’ll like it.” Everyone’s attention shifted to the next panel of pictographs. 

Jim heard Blair’s heartbeat spike, then race. He placed both hands on his partner’s shoulders. “It’s just a painting, Chief. From a long dead history. Just like the Egyptians or Roman motifs you’re always talking about.”

Ellison stared too, his eyes seeing, but his mind reliving the actions portrayed. The first painting showed two men, one with the enlarged ear, eye and hand, the other smaller, side by side in front of a priest, framed by two bodies with serpent heads. The two men were joined around the waist and head by a line that could have been a rope, or cord. The taller man carried a bow and spear, the smaller, a knife and a bundle of rolled up parchments. There were matching anklets on both men. The second picture showed them bound and carried by a group of the serpent headed figures. The cord that joined them at head and waist was still shown. The painting showed a procession of tribal people behind the bound figures. Some were crying, others threatening. The third pictograph had the two captives in pools of water, like the one in the temple behind them. The serpent headed figures were holding the smaller man down, while the priest wielded a knife over his head. 

Blair was shaking his head. “It’s true. It’s not a fairy tale,” he whispered. 

Jim’s hands had gone from Sandburg’s shoulders to his waist. His eyes were locked on the painted image of the larger man. The painted figure was reaching for his companion, his mouth open and his eyes wide and wild. Others were holding him in the pool. The fourth painting showed the knife buried in the smaller man’s chest and blood dripping on the floor. The cord that ran between the men was cut, dangling between them. The larger man lay in the pool, only his face out of the water as a priest placed a large snake with gold eyes into the water. 

Sandburg turned away. “I think I’m going to be sick.” He buried his face into Jim’s Kevlar vest. Jim’s hand immediately went into Blair’s curls and gripped tightly. 

Jack looked at Teal’C. “Guess it’s a good thing that this story has been lost to the mists of time.” The colonel met Ellison’s eyes. “You do believe that this is ancient history, don’t you?” 

Ellison didn’t lessen his grip on Sandburg’s curls. His ice blue eyes shot sparks at the military man. “You’ve learned everything you can learn here. Dr. Jackson has filmed all of this.” He pointed with his chin. “There are no military secrets to be learned, only the interpretation of what happened to some of the people on this planet. I think that we’d like to leave.” 

Jack eyed the drawing again and nodded. “You’ve got no argument from me. Let’s get out of here and get back to the Stargate.” He looked at each one of his team, and except for Jackson, everyone nodded. Jackson was studying the paintings with his flashlight, trying to see every detail. O’Neill reached over and tapped Jackson on the back of the head. “Danny boy. We’re leaving. You can study the tapes when we get back.” 

Jackson started to protest but found himself facing O’Neill’s and Teal’C’s back. He took one more look at the interior of the stone chamber then followed. 

Sam took point on their way out. She shot a look at Ellison and Sandburg as she took the lead. Sandburg was whiter than the white quartz surrounding them and Ellison wasn’t much better. She touched Ellison on the back, her eyes silently asking if he was okay. Ellison nodded. 

Blair shook off Jim’s comforting touch after a few steps and looked at his partner. “What did you see when you saw those drawings?” His voice was a rough whisper that bounced off the rocks. 

Jim didn’t meet his eyes. “Same thing you did, Chief.” 

“Bull shit, Jim. You saw more. I felt your grip change on my shoulder. I felt your arm tremble around my waist. What did you see that the rest of us didn’t?”

Jim’s eyes were focused on the slit of daylight visible at the end of the stone tunnel. “Not here. When we get back.” He blocked Sandburg from going any further with an arm across his chest. 

“Sam! Stop!”

Jim took two loping steps and grabbed the back of Sam’s vest. He tugged the woman back until she was with Sandburg. Jim held up a finger to his lips for silence and then motioned for the rest of the team to join him. They all squeezed in as close as the confines of the stone would allow. 

“What?” O’Neill demanded. 

“We’re not alone,” Jim whispered. “One of the hunting parties is at the bottom of the stairs.” 

“And you know this because —?” the colonel growled. 

Jim scowled at the military man. “I can smell them and hear them.” He tilted his head, eyes slightly out of focus, mouth open. “By their footsteps, I think two are on the stairs. There are at least two more at the base of the pyramid.” Jim listened intently. “They are calling back and forth.” 

Sandburg whispered, “Can you understand them? The language?” 

Jim shook his head. “Not really. Maybe a little bit familiar.” He looked at Jack and Daniel. “We weren’t supposed to make contact. But if they come to the top of the stairs, they are bound to notice the opening in the rock.” 

Teal’C eased by them and cat-footed to the slab they entered through. He placed his staff carefully on the ground and ran his fingers over the rock. Daniel quickly joined him. The two men searched for a way to close the rock, without locking them in. 

Blair nodded in approval. “If they can find the counterweight, we might be in business.” He left Jim’s side to help. 

Jim glanced at Jack and Sam. “I think we’re too late.” He looked toward the crack in the rock at about the same time as the rest of them heard voices. He led the rest of them to the stone door and tapped the others on the shoulder. He motioned for silence and then hunkered down behind it, out of sight of anyone who might peek in. The rest followed Ellison’s example. The group from Earth listened intently to the voices on the other side of the stone and hoped they would go away.

Sandburg’s eyes were locked on Jim’s. Jim’s head was cocked and his gaze distant as he focused. Blair reached out and wrapped his hand around Jim’s wrist. Jim jumped slightly at the motion, and opened his eyes. After a second he almost smiled and almost silently mouthed. “They have gone back to the bottom of the stairs. By the sound of it, I’d say they are arguing over exploring further or going and getting help.”

Jack listened to Jim’s whispered report and relaxed a second. “Okay, if they all leave, we make tracks for the gate. If they leave a guard, we’ll distract him and sneak out. Ellison, can you close this thing?” 

Ellison shook his head. “You’re looking at the wrong guy.” Jim pointedly looked at Jackson. 

Jackson looked at the team looking at him. “I’m sure there is a way, but it’ll take time to find it. And I think time is something we’re short of here.” 

Sam eased around the rock and on elbows and stomach, slithered to the opening. When she didn’t see anyone right in front of her, she eased out a little further. She would be totally exposed if she left the cover of the rock, but she studied the flat stone in front of her. There were piles of vines, leaves and rotten limbs nearby that might offer a little camouflage if she was lucky. But that only helped a little bit. Could they make it to the other side and down without being seen? A moving shadow caught her attention and she was startled as Teal’C eased past her in a crouch.

He took cover behind the pile of organic debris she’d been eyeing. After a moment, Teal’C looked over it and studied the stone stairs below him. He caught Sam’s eye and motioned her to him. She quickly duck-walked to him and surveyed the area herself. Teal’C pointed to himself, then pointed toward the corner of the temple, still mostly buried under clinging vines and moss. He pointed to her and clinched his fist to indicate that she should stay put. Sam nodded. Teal’C looked down once more, then darted across the open area. He disappeared into the leaves. Sam felt more than heard the next body slide in next to hers and looked into Jim’s ice blue eyes. 

Jim put his lips against Sam’s ear. “They left one guard, he’s sitting against a palm tree at 1 o’clock. He can’t see us if we stay low. Teal’C is going to see if we can’t find a way down the back of this thing. Come on.” 

He pulled back and looked at Sam, questioning silently if she understood. Sam nodded and slinked toward the corner where Teal’C had disappeared. Jim stayed behind and motioned for the rest of them. Daniel and Jack left the rock first and darted straight across while Jim watched, his hand motioning them on. Sandburg left the dark coolness and nestled against the vines with Jim. 

“We can’t leave it open,” Blair breathed. “They’ll find the paintings.” 

“We can’t close it, Chief. All we can hope for is that there is some type of taboo about going inside the stone. Or, if anyone goes in, the story scares them off.” 

Sandburg didn’t look very happy and kept glancing back at the dark gap in the rock. He looked at the position of the sun, then back at Jim. “By the time somebody gets here the sun will be lower and they’ll be able to see further inside,” he fretted. 

Jim nodded. “Can’t be helped, Chief. Come on.” He pushed Sandburg toward the far corner where Jack was peeking around a broad leaf. He looked down the stairs one more time then followed. The small group joined together and as stealthily as possible crawled, climbed and creeped to the back of the temple. 

Years of weathering gave the group cracks for handholds and places to lodge their feet. At the same time, the crumbly rocks slipped under a misplaced foot or a vine pulled free as a body used it for a handhold. Jim cringed at the noise they were making and at the same time kept trying to encourage them to go faster. They had tied their gear into two bundles and secured them with large twists of vines so the bundles could be lowered to the ground. Once all of the extra supplies were safely at the bottom, the team hastened their descent. After a few minutes on a near-vertical rock face, the incline decreased and the threat of falling the height of the temple lessened. The slabs of cracked rock, vines and small bushes made for better footing and easier climbing. 

Jim glanced down, mentally checking everyone below him. Jack and Sam led the way with Daniel above them. The colonel and captain handled the rock easily, moving steadily, balancing each other. Jack was never more than a strong arm away from Daniel, who was climbing with pure determination winning over sheer terror. Daniel’s almost panicked heartbeat was as nearly as frantic as Blair’s. Jim looked up and over at his partner. Sandburg was moving steadily if slowly. Jim could hear him whisper to himself over and over, ‘I can do this, I can do this.’ Teal’C was above both of them, alternately looking down, up and around, trying to guard the humans. 

Climbing was something Ellison could do without thinking more than telling his hands and feet to reach for a crack or a ledge. He almost let himself enjoy it, smelling the air, feeling the rough surface, listening to the birds. The occasional voice or mumbled complaint disturbed the natural sounds around him. If this was other than a life or death situation, he would stop, hang onto a group of vines and enjoy the nature around him. Instead he dialed sight, hearing, and smell up high and concentrated on reaching the jungle floor. 

O’Neill’s feet touched leaf covered ground and he stood straight for a second before reaching for Daniel and Sam. He rotated his neck and shoulders, relaxing the stiff muscles. Then he looked up at the three still on the stone wall. “We’re down,” he called softly. 

Ellison looked down and nodded. A glance showed him Sandburg and Teal’C were both close. He paused his own movements so Sandburg could catch up when he suddenly realized the forest was silent. All his training and instincts screamed “DANGER” and his hearing strained to pick up what had disturbed the local wildlife. His nose warned him first but it was too late when the tiniest whiff of wood smoke tickled his sinuses. Before he could consciously identify the campfire smell, he’d jumped the last fifteen feet to the ground and was grabbing for their bundle of weapons. He was too late. A group of the natives materialized from the jungle, spears lowered and bows drawn back. 

“Ellison, didn’t you hear them?” O’Neill whispered furiously, as he slowly raised his hands. 

“No. Smelled them. But it was too late.” Ellison place the rifle he’d snatched carefully on the ground at his feet and stood straight, palms facing outward. 

The group of six men surrounded the four on the ground. After a moment the oldest of the natives shouted at the two men on the wall and pointed to the ground. 

Sandburg looked at the captives twenty feet under him. “Teal’C, I still have my Zatgun, tucked inside my shirt.”

Teal’C surveyed the situation. “I do not believe hostile action would be wise. You cannot stun them all at once and revealing your weapon may be more dangerous.” 

“Have you been in situations like this before?” Blair continued downward, eyes trying not to look down and see Jim looking up.   
“More times then I find comfortable. And yourself?” 

“Yeah, more times then I find comfortable.” They reached the ground and joined the others. 

Sandburg went to Ellison’s side, his eyes full of questions. Ellison shrugged. “They know how to move without making any noise. What can I say?” 

They were pushed around to the front of the temple and prodded back up the stairs. They found two others at the opening in the stone. Two of the natives dragged their bundle of gear behind them and dropped it at the base of the temple. Ellison watched the curious men pull the vines off the weapons, backpacks and Kevlar vests. The natives men were closer to being boys and Ellison cringed at what would happen if one of them pulled a trigger on one of the high-powered rifles. But the spear point in his back insisted that he keep his attention focused on what was happening in front of him, not at the bottom of the stairs. 

Ellison listened intently to the hurried conversation going on between the natives. He looked at Jackson and leaned closer. “Do you understand them? Any at all?” 

Jackson shook his head. “I didn’t study South American dialects. You?” 

Jim shook his head. “It’s familiar. Like listening to Latin.” 

Daniel looked puzzled at that comparison but didn’t make any further comment. 

Ellison looked at Sandburg who was also listening to them, one man in particular. The one doing all the talking held the remains of a torch and was obviously trying to explain what he’d seen inside. He finished his excited explanation and pointed at Teal’C. When nobody in his group did anything, he went up to Teal’C and slowly reached up and touched the emblem on Teal’C’s forehead. When it didn’t come off, the native looked at the large stranger with questioning eyes. 

“Jaffa!” Teal’C proclaimed, then bowed slightly at the waist, his eyes never leaving the native’s face. 

The native pulled away in fear. After a second he went to Sam and pulled off her uniform cap, then touched the blonde hair. Once his fingers had stroked the blonde strands, they went to his own black straight ones. Sam remained still and silent. He went to Sandburg, touched the bundle of pulled back curls. Blair turned his head, let the young man see and touch all he wanted. 

“I don’t think he’s ever seen blonde hair or curls before.” Jackson observed.

Sandburg nodded, holding still as the native walked around him. When the man again faced him, Sandburg carefully reached up and touched the feather tied into a lock of the shoulder length black hair. The aborigine did not resist or pull away, allowing Sandburg to stroke the long feather. Sandburg smiled at the man. He reached back and pulled the elastic band out of his curls and shook them free. Then he offered it to the man who was staring at him, mouth open. The dark brown eyes looked at the black band in Sandburg’s hand and back to into the bright blue eyes. He nodded, one quick up and down with his head. 

Sandburg moved quietly and slowly behind the man, gathered the black fall of hair and wrapped the band around it. When he finished, he faced the native again, and nodded. The man felt the gathered club of hair at his neck. He grinned, and with quick fingers unbraided the feather in the remaining free strand and deftly braided it into Blair’s. Blair felt the feather and with a quick grin, nodded up and down, once. 

“You better hope that wasn’t a marriage ceremony, Chief,” Jim growled softly. 

Jackson shook his head. “Nations have sworn allegiance to each other with less actions, Detective Ellison.” 

“I just made a non-threatening gesture of friendship,” Sandburg said. “And he did the same. While we are now not enemies, we are closer to being friends.” 

The aborigine looked at his companions behind him, and the group of strangers in front of him. He faced Sandburg again. 

“Tulok” He placed his hand on his chest and bowed slightly, just lowering his head. 

Blair repeated the gesture. “Blair.” Then he touched the man lightly on the chest. “Tulok.” 

Tulok touched Blair’s chest. “Blair.” It came out Bla’r but Sandburg nodded. Tulok retreated to his group and whispered to them, pointing and gesturing. 

Blair looked at Daniel and Jim. “How’d I do for first contact with an alien species?”

“Better than I did. At least you didn’t end up clucking like a chicken.” Daniel’s mouth quirked upward slightly at the memory. 

“But you recovered nicely. You married the high priest’s daughter.” Jack interjected. 

“And lost her to the bad guys. No happy ever after there.” Daniel looked at the ground, effectively changing the subject. 

“Now what?” Jim asked, his eyes following the group as they continued their discussion. His attention was jerked from the whispering gathering to the two youngsters at the bottom of the stairs. The two young men who were exploring their packs had managed to untangle one of the rifles and was examining it closely. 

Jim shouted “NO!” and leaped for the stairs, ignoring everything and everyone except for the young man who was looking down the barrel of a high powered rifle while the other one played with the trigger as he held it. Jim hit the last stair with a leap, shouting “NO! in Quencha, English, and every other language he knew the warning in. 

The two young men dropped the gun and pulled their knives from sheaves on their hips. The stock of the rifle impacted against a backpack frame and discharged, the bullet striking a tree and shearing off a piece of bark. 

The group on the temple platform were frozen during Jim’s actions. 

The boys looked at the large stranger who had flown at them, screaming, and froze, not sure as to what they were supposed to do next. They looked at the weapon lying on the ground, and at the tree that was missing a slice of bark. Voices from the top of the stairs shook the boys out of their shock and they raised their knives threateningly. 

Jim stared at both of them and decided that whatever he did now wouldn’t matter. “I won’t hurt you, okay. I was just scared that you were going to get hurt. This,” he nudged the rifle, “is a dangerous weapon for my people.” Jim murmured in Quencha, hoping against hope that something was getting through to the frightened teenagers, even if it was just the tone. He waited, hands outstretched, eyes pleading with the boys. Inside, he was begging, ‘don’t be afraid, please don’t be afraid.’ 

The boys exchanged glances. They studied the human in front of them, and when Jim made no further motion toward them, lowered their knives. 

Jim heaved a sigh and smiled. He was hurtled back to his first moments with the Chopec so many years ago. He only barely remembered the first week, he’ d been too badly injured to be a threat. But he did remember the teenagers who were fascinated with the weapons the crashed helicopter contained. He didn’t have the words to explain the danger. Those were the first words he learned. 

“I won’t hurt you.” Jim tried Sandburg’s method of introducing himself and soothing the young men. After a few minutes, the boys introduced themselves as Lutock and Rockta and Jim relaxed a little. He relaxed more when Sandburg joined him, followed by everyone else. Looking around him, he realized that the tension level had dropped among the aliens because of how he’d treated the youngest members of their group. 

The man who appeared to be the leader of the small band of hunters pulled Sandburg to a path and pointed down it. This path was a well-trodden game trail that barely showed a human footprint. The youngest of the men grabbed Ellison by the arm and dragged him into the group of warriors escorting Sandburg. 

“Where are we going, guys?” Ellison asked in exasperation. The teenager grabbed the backpacks and urged Ellison down the path and chatted excitedly at the large white man. They were being escorted or herded toward the native’s campsite, with the humans in the center of the warrior group. After a few minutes, Jim realized he recognized something in the boy’s speech. Jim hesitated to test his theory, that he was hearing a word or two of the Chopec language. It was heavily accented, garbled, but he was certain it was there. He moved closer to Jackson so he could talk without shouting. 

“Dr. Jackson, didn’t you say that Latin is familiar to someone who speaks English?” Jim called over his shoulder.

Jackson looked back at Ellison and almost tripped on a root. 

“What was that, Ellison?” 

Sandburg touched Ellison’s arm. “Jim are you saying you understand them?”

Jim looked down at the wide-eyed man. “No, Chief, not really. But every now and then there’s something familiar. Remember with Incacha, you picked up a word or two that you recognized? About the same with me.”

O’Neill looked back at Jackson, Ellison and Sandburg, all in intense conversation. Jack shook his head. Looked like Daniel had found someone who spoke his language, in shorthand, by the speed that both men’s hands were flying. Every now and then, Ellison would nod or inject something. The colonel motioned Teal’C closer and nodded toward the three conversing men. “Do you know what they are talking about?” 

“I believe that Ellison believes the language the natives are speaking is a variation of a dialect he is familiar with. Dr. Jackson is understandably excited.” 

“I’m sure.” O’Neill called Sam over and turned her around. Out of all of them, she was the only one still wearing a backpack. He opened a flap and pulled out a small palm pilot computer. He checked the power level and smiled to himself, then handed it to Sam, knowing that she knew what he was thinking. 

Sam took the small computer, rigged with a button-sized microphone and transmitter and carried it to Jim. She quietly asked Jim to persuade the young men to repeat what they had been saying. The expression on her face conveyed what she wanted, even if her words weren’t understood by the natives. The young men continued to chatter to Ellison, alternating between pointing down the trail and pulling on his arm. 

“trail. camp . food . guest.” 

Jim looked at the computer Sam held, surprised. He looked at Sam’s smug smile and shook his head. He didn’t know technology had advanced to that degree in translating an obscure language. Jim repeated in Quencha. <“This trail will take us to your camp. We are your guests.”> He took the computer from Sam and waited for their reaction.

The boys looked at each other, nodded. They grabbed Ellison’s arm and pulled him to Tulock. With the little computer picking up more and more words to translate, conversation soon flowed between Jim and Tulock. In a very few minutes, everyone had been introduced and the journey to the camp became a traveling, excited, chattering party, with Ellison in the middle, trying to translate the human’s questions.


	5. Chapter 5

The campfire burned brightly and the group of humans sat closest to the dancing flames. A deer was spitted and cooking over the flames, being turned and attended by two other men. The humans sipped water from gourds and listened as Tulock told the history of the tribe. The tiny computer/translator lay at his feet and converted more and more of the language to English. Daniel and Blair’s fingers flew as they wrote down the stories, not completely trusting the recorders each carried. 

Tulock told a tale that SG-1 had heard many times in their explorations. The tribal history contained a story of a long travel and battles with strange beings. It told of members of the tribe disappearing into a ring of light, never to be seen again. The natives had settled on the side of the mountain many, many seasons ago. The game was plentiful and the tribe had grown. They were at peace. Daniel kept nodding and writing, making the occasional comment to Blair. Anthropologist and archeologist seemed too oblivious to the rest of their team as they tried to capture Tulock’s history. 

“Tulock, what can you tell us of the stone building?” Sam queried. 

Another hunter of the group, identified as Rasad, spoke up. “We sent a runner back to our home, to bring back our Shaman. He knows how to read the symbols. He was trained by his father’s father.” 

“When will he arrive?” Blair glanced at Jim, who was flanked by the youngest hunters as he sat cross-legged by the fire. Sandburg smiled. Jim had definitely been adopted. 

“Seer will be here before the morning. He travels slowly.” 

Another voice spoke up. “Seer is very old. His hair is white and he has few teeth.”

“Does Seer have a student?” Daniel asked, closing his notebook. 

Tulock nodded. “But Seer has not passed on his greatest wisdom. He is afraid that if he does, we will no longer give him a spot by our fires and hunt for him.” 

Teal’C glanced around the fire at the group of young men. “Surely you honor your elders by taking care of them as their health fails.” 

A mumble of comments went through the band of hunters. Tulock finally spoke up, “Seer is Shaman. He is ... different. It is difficult to know how to treat him.” Tulock rose from his haunches and sliced a piece of meat from the hindquarters of the roasting deer. “Eat! Then you will tell us how you came to this place and knew how to open the stone.” 

They dined on the venison and roots roasted in the fire. Jim sniffed the vegetables and nodded to the others before anyone bit into them. His role as ‘food taster’ seemed to be accepted by the group and soon he was being handed slices of fruit and small bundles of green leaves to try.

Ellison’s reactions to a small stalk of leafy yellow plant made the hunters laugh. Jim’s nose wrinkled up and his eyes watered before he hastily handed it back to the hunter who had given it to him. 

Choctaw, the hunter who had offered the stalk took it back with a shy grin and then chomped on it, chewing it with relish. Blair and Jack looked at Jim, eyebrows rising. 

Jim shook his head. “Think skunk cabbage.” The human group all groaned, while Teal’C looked puzzled. 

Jack nodded at Daniel as he wiped his hands on his pants leg. “Daniel, why don’t you tell our hosts how we got here, while I activate the remote and check in with General Hammond.” 

Daniel acknowledged the colonel’s order and went back to his low-voiced conversation with Sandburg and Teal’C. The colonel looked at Sam and tilted his head in a ‘come with me’ motion. Sam nodded and got up to follow her commanding officer. 

Jim caught Jack’s eyes and silently asked if there were any concerns. 

“Stay out of trouble, Ellison,” Jack whispered to the Sentinel with a grin. 

Jim tried to look offended. “Who me?” he mouthed back at O’Neill, getting a smile and head shake in return.

Clear of the campsite and out of the group’s hearing, O’Neill activated the remote transmitter that let them communicate with Earth through the Stargate. O’Neill briefly brought the general up to speed on their status and their plans to spend the night. 

“Thought you weren’t going to make contact with the locals?” General Hammond sounded annoyed. 

“They had other ideas, sir. I’ll contact you at sunrise, planet time.” 

“Roger that.” O’Neill turned off the transmitter and looked at the female captain. “Comments?” 

“At first glance, I don’t see any sign of weaponry that can help us against the Goa’uld. The pictographs are interesting and I’m sure Daniel will lock himself in his office for days on end when we get back. And Sandburg will be with him, I’m sure.” 

“I’m not real familiar with South American history, but this is the first time we’ve found something resembling it off Earth.” 

“True.” They started walking back toward the light cast by the fire. “Think these people are descendants of a group kidnapped from a South American rain forest and then forgotten?” 

Samantha shrugged. “It wouldn’t be the first colony that the Goa’uld forgot. Look at Earth. They may just be a group of the lucky ones, with the Goa’uld an ancient story, the way Tulock told it.” 

“And if that’s the case, we may have exposed them to a space-faring race that they cannot defend against.” 

Sam had no comment and the pair went back to camp. 

Daniel was pacing back and forth in front of the small group, telling them an abbreviated tale of Earth and their explorations. When Daniel explained how they traveled through the Stargate, voices rose in confused and angry words. Daniel stopped his story and looked at Tulock for answers. 

“Only a Shaman can enter the light pool, what you call ‘Stargate’. Are you a Shaman to your tribe?” 

Daniel shook his head. “Noooo, I am a teacher, however —” His answer generated more confused mutterings.

Sandburg climbed to his feet and joined Daniel “I am a Shaman. I was given the gift by a Shaman named Incacha, on our home world. My tribe is very far away from here.” 

“Only a Shaman can walk through the light pool and not be harmed.” Choctaw stated firmly. 

Sandburg looked at Choctaw, then the rest of the hunters gathered around the fire. Each one met his eyes for a second, then dropped their eyes. Surety flooded through him. “That is the knowledge Seer refuses to share with his student. Can Seer activate the light pool?” Sandburg asked. 

The group of young men looked at each other. Choctaw answered, “On the change of the seasons Seer prays to the stone ring. He says that the ring opens to his prayers and he talks to our gods. He is always alone.” 

“So nobody has seen the Shaman activate the Stargate?” 

The natives remained silent. Finally Tulock spoke up, “That is a question you will have to ask Seer.” 

The rest of the evening passed in near silence as the group separated into individuals and bedded down in palm fronds and cut bundles of elephant ear leaves and grasses. The group from Earth chose a spot backed by large fallen trees and separate from the natives. Teal’C sat down, his back to a huge stump, his staff across his knees. He was so obviously on watch, Jim looked at Teal’C then at the colonel, eyebrow on the rise. 

Jack looked at Teal’C then back to Ellison. “Flip you for second watch? Two hours?” 

Jim nodded and dug out a coin. “Heads.” He launched the coin into the night sky and caught it. He looked at the back of his hand and smiled at Jack. “Tails.” 

Jack nodded. “See you in four hours.” The colonel unslung his rifle and headed for a spot between Daniel and Sam. The archeologist was weaving a group of long grasses into a mat while Sam watched, trying to copy the fast motions his hands were making. Jack watched the mat making for a moment and sighed, which caused the two people to look up. “What’s wrong with a pad of grass and leaves?” he asked the scientist. 

Daniel went back to his task. “Nothing. But the grass is here, and I don’t get a chance to practice this often. You ought to try it, Jack. Some would say that this is very meditative.” 

Jack piled his vest, backpack and hat into a pillow form. He reclined against it and pulled his hat over his eyes. “I never did get into meditation. Too cerebral.” 

Jim sat down beside his partner. Blair had already made a mat out of grass and was working on the second one. He grinned at Jim who was looking at the mat, then back at Daniel and Sam. 

“Who taught who?” Jim murmured to his partner. 

“I learned in Tahiti when I was a kid. Daniel learned in Sociology 101. Same results, different technique and design. I’m faster, he’s neater.” 

Jim picked up a leaf and with deft motions made a bowl. He handed it to Blair. “I learned in Peru.”

Jim started arranging packs and vests, making them a comfortable spot while Sandburg chuckled over the bowl. Blair finished his mat and laid it next to Jim’s. Jim was still, head cocked, eyes closed. Blair waited, knowing the Sentinel was listening to their surroundings. When Jim’s eyes opened, Blair’s face questioned his partner. “All quiet around us. We’ve got watch in four hours.” Jim reclined on his side, patted the mat next to him. “Get some rest.” 

Blair hesitated. “Think we’ll make someone uncomfortable?” 

“Gets chilly at night, Chief. Last time I checked, sharing body heat is a perfectly good way to stay warm.” 

“Good point.” Blair made himself comfortable and sighed contentedly when Jim’s big arm came over his chest and pulled him close to the larger warm body. 

Jim’s internal clock woke him precisely four hours later. Blair was partially draped over him, his head tucked on his shoulder, one hand inside Jim’s shirt. Carefully, Jim eased himself up and away from his partner. He draped the mat he’d been sleeping on over the still body and lightly stroked a curl before getting to his feet. 

Jack looked at Jim as the Sentinel approached his position. The colonel got to his feet and stretched. “Quiet night.” 

“That’s the only way they should be.” Jim’s voice barely broke the silence. “Any feelings about what we’re doing here?” The ex-Ranger looked at the Colonel, military man to military man.

“About what my team is doing here? No. We have hundreds of explorations under our belt. Sometimes we get lucky and find something that will help Earth in a fight that’s coming. Sometimes we don’t. As far as having you and Sandburg here, I don’t know. It’s obvious that your ‘gifts’ were known on this world. Will your gifts be useful to our work, definitely. On this trip, I don’t know.” The colonel looked into the darkness. “Jim, in this job, I’ve seen things you couldn’t possibly believe. And I’ve learned one thing.” The colonel looked back at the Sentinel. “The impossible is just around the corner. Just because we didn’t think something up, doesn’t mean someone else hasn’t.” He tapped Ellison on the arm. “See you in a couple hours.” 

“Good night, Colonel O’Neill.” Jim watched for a moment as the colonel curled up between Daniel and Sam, on his own grass mat. Teal’C was next to Sam, his back against a fallen tree, his staff weapon curled under his arm. The Sentinel settled against the lightning seared stump and stared at the sky. Night sounds filled the air around him, accompanied by the soft steady breathing of his companions. The natives were also silent except for the occasional sleep sound. Jim’s hearing automatically tuned into the immediate surroundings, identifying and dismissing all of the sounds that belonged. The stars Jim saw through the canopy of trees didn’t fit any pattern he was familiar with and his presence on the strange planet hit home hard. Keeping watch over a sleeping camp was something he knew and understood. In Peru, his hours of guarding his Chopec tribe were some of the most memorable moments of his 18 months lost there. The silence he found in the jungle seeped into him, energizing and soothing something deep inside. He sat in the darkness, absorbing the peace, smiling to himself. Jim didn’t admit it to anyone, in particular his partner, but the jungle was home to him in more ways then he could define. Here, all of his senses worked and flowed without effort, without needing to be controlled. In the jungle, the Sentinel lived. 

The predawn lighting of the sky was greeted by the sound of footsteps crashing through the jungle. Jim listened to the other camp as it woke, greeting the new arrivals. After listening to the natives the previous day, he was beginning to understand more of the language without the electronic translator. His limited understanding indicated that the runner with the tribal shaman had arrived. Jim got to his feet and slipped from their camp to greet the new arrivals. 

Blair stirred in his sleep as Jim left the camp. When Jim had gotten up to stand watch, Sandburg had accepted Jim’s silent encouragement to sleep and hadn’t risen with him. But the instant the Sentinel moved from the camp’s edge, the Shaman woke, searching. Sandburg climbed to feet, yawning. Jim’s back was visible in the early light and didn’t seem to be moving away. Blair took the time to take care of bodily functions and then dug through his pack. He was certain he’d stashed a couple of packs of instant coffee and some tea in there somewhere. Armed with his stash, he followed Jim back toward the fire that was burning once more. 

Jim looked down at Sandburg when Blair stopped at his side. The teacher looked a little rough around the edges with his hair hastily pulled into a ponytail and a day’s growth of thick whiskers on his face. Sandburg was looking at the group who had joined the hunters, his eyes darting from one to the other. There were three newcomers. The Shaman stood out from the other two. He was smaller, stooped with age. His white hair hung in limp, greasy strands almost to his waist. His hunched frame was draped in several different hides and strands of shells encircled his neck and wrists. He gripped a walking stick as if it was the only thing holding him up. Rapid and excited dialogue surrounded the group. 

Jim touched Sandburg on the arm and nodded toward the small gathering. “I take it that’s who we’re expecting.”

Blair nodded. “I can honestly say that is the first shaman that looks like what a primitive shaman is recorded to look like.” 

Jim’s nose wrinkled. “Smells like, too.” 

Blair shot a quick grin at Jim. “Guess we ought to go meet him. Think you understand enough of the language to be understood?” ]

“I think we can manage.” He looked over his shoulder. “What about the others? Want to wake them?” 

Blair glanced back at the sleeping SG team and shook his head. He met Jim’s questioning eyes. “I think we ought to meet Seer — Shaman to Shaman, if you know what I mean.” 

Jim nodded and followed Sandburg to the fire. This felt — right, somehow. Shaman and Sentinel — meeting another tribe’s shaman. Deep inside something was very content. 

Tulock looked up at the human’s approach and grinned. He pointed at them and Seer turned to face them, sharp eyes peering out of a prune-wrinkled face. Tulock made introductions. Seer stared at Sandburg, then Ellison. A crippled, arthritic hand reached up and fingered a hanging curl. He pulled his hand back and peered at Ellison.

Without a word he fumbled with the multiple cords around his neck and freed two of them from the tangle. He pressed one into Ellison’s hand, the other into Sandburg’s. His sharp eyes focused on the confused faces and he motioned for the two strangers to put them on. 

Ellison looked at the carved stone dangling at the end of the cord. The rock depicted a stalking feline. He looked at Sandburg’s. The stone in Blair’s hand was a crudely carved dog. Jim bowed his head to the shaman and slipped the cord over the scarf tied around his scalp and onto his neck. <“Thank you. Your ward will protect us while we are visiting your tribe.”> He wasn’t sure if he was understood, but the old man was nodding his head. 

Seer whispered to the stranger. <“The animals protect you.”> He nodded in approval as Ellison slid the stone under his tee shirt and translated to Blair. Sandburg draped his over his neck, tucked it inside his shirt with a nod and smile. 

Tulock motioned toward the fire. He said something to all of them, which Ellison translated as ‘breakfast.’ 

 

Jack woke when the tantalizing scent of coffee tickled his nose. He sat up, brushing the palm frond he’d used as a blanket off his shoulders and looked around. Laughter came from the native’s camp. Jack mentally counted heads of his sleeping team and came up two short. He struggled to his feet and stretched, feeling every kink and ache in his body. “I’m getting too old to sleep on the ground,” he groused to himself. His movements disturbed the other members of his team and they started to stir. 

Daniel looked around as he climbed to his feet. “Where are they and do I smell coffee?” 

“Yes, you smell coffee.” Teal’C confirmed as he brushed off his clothes. “I believe they are enjoying themselves.” A round of laughter drifted to the humans. 

“Wonder if they have breakfast ready?” Sam brushed her fingers through her short blonde hair and tried to make it look halfway decent. 

“Well, at least there is coffee.” O’Neill led his small troop to the fire where they were greeted warmly. 

Sandburg and Seer were sitting side by side, with Jim and Tulock on either side of them, alternating as translator and elaborator. 

Sandburg grinned at Jackson and pushed a couple of wooded bowls of dark liquid toward them. “It’s instant, but it’s coffee.” 

Tulock made a face and said something to Jim. “Tulock wants to know how we can drink something this bitter,” Jim translated. 

“Tell him it’s no worse than what Rasad is brewing,” Sandburg commented with a nod toward the young man who was stirring a gourd of something that steamed. Jim’s translation brought a grunt from Seer and a toothless grin.

Jack sipped the beverage offered, nodded, and drained the bowl. Jackson and Teal’C followed suit, both sighing after the first sip. Seer touched Sandburg’s knee and said something. Blair looked at Jim who shook his head. It only took a moment to retrieve the small computer and place it at Seer’s feet. 

<“Tell me how you opened the stone mountain.”> Seer’s bright eyes stared into Sandburg’s. 

Slowly, Sandburg and Ellison told of their activities, trying to use words the old man understood. 

<“You know how to travel into the light pool? You have been to other places?”> Seer looked at all of them.

Ellison nodded. 

<“You entered the stone mountain. There were drawings on the stone.”>

Again Ellison nodded. He met the dark brown eyes and felt like his soul was wide open to the shaman. 

<“Did you understand them?”>

<“Some of them. Do you know what they mean?”> Jackson asked, hands furiously moving, the tape recorder on his knee.

<“My father’s father told a story of being in the mountain. He said the pictures told a story. But he did not tell what the story was.”>

<“Can you make the light pool work?”> O’Neill asked. He sat beside Ellison and nibbled on a granola bar. 

<“I can talk to the gods.”> Seer stated flatly. 

<“Will you talk to the gods for us?”> Jackson asked excitedly. Seer stared at them and shook his head. 

<“Our gods are not for strangers. They only talk to me at the changing of the seasons.”> The old man stared at Ellison. <“When you went into the stone mountain, you told our gods you are here. They are always watching and listening.”>

The shaman’s words caused silence. Each man and woman from Earth looked at the other. There was one question on the Stargate team’s faces: what now? 

Seer stood up, leaning heavily on Sandburg’s shoulder as he straightened. <“Walk with me. We must talk of things others cannot hear.”>

Sandburg looked at Jack, who nodded, then Ellison, who also nodded. Blair picked up the computer and the old man’s walking stick. 

“Aren’t you going with them?” Daniel looked at Ellison. 

“No need. I’ll be listening.” 

Teal’C nodded at Ellison. “I will follow. They will not know I am there.” 

O’Neill nodded and Teal’C slipped into the jungle, shadowing the two Shamans. Ellison accepted a roasted root from Choctaw and thanked him. 

Sam smiled at the native and eyed the tuber in her hand with a wary eye. She looked at Ellison who was chewing contentedly. 

“What’s the matter, Captain? In all your travels, haven’t you developed an appreciation for native cuisine?” Jim crunched away.  
Sam didn’t answer, just nibbled slowly. 

Ellison chuckled but his eyes were on O’Neill. “Colonel, what are you thinking?” 

“I’m thinking that if our opening the temple triggered a transmitter, we could be in trouble.” 

“After so many years, do you think a transmitter powerful enough to reach other planets could still work?”

“Since we’ve been doing this job, you’d be amazed at what still works after hundreds or thousands of years,” Sam commented. “Ever heard of Asgard or Thor’s hammer?” At Ellison’s arched eyebrows, Sam finished her roasted root and rinsed it down with water from her canteen. “Let me tell you a story.” 

 

Sandburg helped Seer along the small path. After a few minutes the elderly man sat down on a stump and reached into a pocket inside his tattered furs. He pulled out a leaf and stuck it in his mouth. He handed one to Sandburg. 

<“Tell me of your travels, young stranger, and why a dog follows you.”>

Sandburg looked around himself, not seeing any sign of an animal, real or otherwise. He didn’t want to be rude, so he stuck the leaf into his mouth, and placed it in a cheek, not chewing it. 

<“My home is on another planet, one of the stars in your night sky.”>

 

Jim’s head jerked up and he cocked it for a moment before interrupting Sam’s story. “Sandburg is coming back. And he’s singing.” He looked at Sam. “That’s not good. Excuse me.” The Sentinel bounced to his feet and disappeared into the jungle following the path Sandburg and Seer took. He found Sandburg holding Seer by the elbow and patiently singing ‘star light, star bright’ to the native. The native was trying to follow the English words and making a valiant attempt. 

“Sandburg, what are you doing?” 

“Jim, did you know that flowers talk?” The bright blue eyes looked at him, fully dilated pupils staring at him.

Ellison took Sandburg’s face in his hands. “Blair, you’ve been drugged. What did you take?” 

“Nothing. See.” Blair pulled the leaf from the inside of his cheek and handed the wet wilted leaf to his partner. “I didn’t even chew on it.”

Jim looked at the old man who was grinning his toothless grin. He smelled the leaf and flinched away from the scent. He looked at Seer again. <“You wanted him to dream walk.”>

Seer peered up at Ellison. <“He says he is a Shaman to a Guardian of his tribe. He is very proud of you, Guardian. But why do you make him sad?”>

<“There are many things you do not know. My world, my tribe is different.”>

Seer nodded. <“My tribe has not had a guardian for many, many seasons. It is said that our gods valued a guardian above all and took the last ones with them when they left.”>

“Jim, you’re not translating.” Blair complained with a smile and leaned on Jim. 

Jim tucked his partner under his arm with a pained smile. “Chief, you’re going to be so hung over.”

Seer looked at the two men, squinting in the sun. <“I will talk to my gods. Your shaman says they may have knowledge that will help you fight a great evil.”>

<“Perhaps it will be better if you show us how to contact your gods and let us do it. This way you will not offend them.”>

<“My gods already know someone entered the mountain. They will want to meet the guardian who opened it.”>

Jim shook his head, a lump growing in his stomach. <“I would rather not meet your gods, Seer.”>

The old man looked puzzled. <“Why not? It will be a great honor. It will make my gods proud to know that a guardian still lives.”>

Jim shook his head. <“Did your dream walk tell you that, Shaman?”>

Seer shook his head. <“My dream walk was so I could talk to your shaman. But a large dog and cat would not let me get too close. He guards your secrets well, Guardian.”>

Jim smiled at Blair, who was leaning heavily on him, eyes half closed. “He always has.” Jim heard Teal’C approach and motioned back down the trail. <“You need to tell our party that you will talk to your gods.”>

Seer looked at the Jaffa who was looming close. <“The warrior is different from your other companions. He carries a young god within.”>

Jim didn’t answer and the four returned to camp. Jim sat Blair on a log and rummaged through Sandburg’s backpack. He pulled out water and a bottle of aspirin. He forced both on his partner. 

O’Neill knelt beside Sandburg and looked into the slightly vacant eyes. “What happened?” 

“Seer took Sandburg on a dream walk.” 

O’Neill’s eyes questioned the phrase.  
“A spirit quest. Unfortunately, he used a hallucinogenic plant to do it with.” Jim lifted Blair’s hand, holding the water bottle, urging more into his partner. “Now, he’s going to be hungover and ill when he comes down.” Jim touched the long curls draped in Sandburg’s face. “How you doing, Chief?” 

Blair blinked, then rubbed his face. He looked owlishly at the two men staring at him. “I’ve been better. Do I want to know what happened?” 

“You and Seer went on a spirit walk. Drink some water, Chief. You’ve been drugged and now you’re hung over.” 

“No kidding,” Blair mumbled. He looked at Seer who was in the center of the hunting party, talking animatedly. “Did we learn anything? Did I tell him anything?” Blair’s still overly dilated eyes met Jim’s crystal blue ones. When Jim didn’t say anything quickly, Blair handed back the water bottle and stood up, almost falling over the tree he’d been sitting on. “You think I told him about your senses. You think I betrayed you.” 

“Sandburg! No! I don’t!” Jim was suddenly furious at the leaps the younger man’s mind was making. He never could keep up with Sandburg’s leaps of logic. “Seer said that he knew I was a guardian, but he also said our spirit animals would not let him talk to you.”  
Ellison took a deep breath, trying to rein in his voice. The last thing he wanted to do was embarrass his partner in front of a group of strangers. “Chief, I trust you with my life, don’t you know that by now? After all we’ve been through?” 

Blair looked at his Sentinel, really wanting to believe, to trust. Ellison’ s face was open, his eyes clear. Sandburg closed his eyes and just breathed for a few moments, trying to clear the last of the fog around his thoughts. He cast his memories back into the crowded pool of the last hour, trying to focus on the conversation with the old shaman.

One mental picture leaped out at him, the wolf and panther sitting in front of him, growling at the man with an owl and raven on his shoulders. There was a snake curled at the native’s feet, a cobra, it’s head raised, flared, ready to strike. The meaning flashed clearly in the young shaman’s mind. “He’s going to contact the ones who left the pictographs on the temple, Jim! We can’t be here when he does. You’ll be in danger.” 

O’Neill looked sharply at the anthropologist. “How do you know?” 

“In the spirit walk, a cobra was with him. Jim saw my wolf fighting a snake.” Blair grabbed onto Jim’s arm. “We can’t be here if he activates the gate.” 

“Whoa, Sandburg.” Jack looked from one man to the other. “Explain ‘my wolf fighting a snake’.” 

“Jim had a vision —” Blair started. 

O’Neill held up his hand. “Wait. I changed my mind. I don’t want to know.” He studied Ellison. “Visions?”

Ellison nodded. “Sometimes.” 

“Do they come true?” 

Ellison shrugged. “Sometimes.  
”  
O’Neill shook his head. “I really don’t want to know.” 

Jackson was with the group of hunters surrounding Seer. Seeing O’Neill and the others approach, he excused himself and walked to Jack. “Seer says he will talk to his gods and open the Stargate.” The archeologist paused, seeing the frown on the colonel’s face. “This isn’t good news, is it?” 

“We don’t know yet.”


	6. Chapter 6

The sun was high in the sky by the time the group relocated back to the temple. Seer insisted on seeing the inside of the temple with Ellison and Sandburg. No amount of discussion dissuaded him. The rest of the group waited outside while the elder shaman was escorted into the mountain by Ellison, Sandburg and Jackson. 

SG-1 spent the time trying to learn more about the natives and the planet they were on. Teal’C’s appearance and Sam’s blonde hair generated the most questions once the young men got over their fear of the strangers. Colonel O’Neill watched the interaction with a quiet smile and kept his thoughts to himself. 

Seer took Sandburg’s hand and together the two shamans outlined the pictographs on the painted wall. Jim held a smoky torch high, letting the flickering light illuminate the wall as much as possible. Jackson was filming again and murmuring into a small mic, trying to convey what was happening. 

The old native looked at Jackson, who was partially hiding behind a small camera and Sandburg before murmuring, <“Do you know what these mean? Have you seen these in your travels?”>

Jim translated carefully, hoping he got the words close to correct. The more he heard the language, the more words he picked up and easier it became. 

Jackson shook his head. <“We can only guess.”>

Seer sighed sadly and traced a drawing taller than he, not quite touching it. <“How to open the stone mountain was lost long ago. The story of these drawings was also lost.”> He pivoted, trying to take in everything in one movement as he hobbled in a circle. <“I must speak to my gods.”> His slow turn ended facing Sandburg. The shadowed filled eyes met the unknown blues ones. <“You must come with me. My gods will want to meet you. You are shaman to a guardian. They will want to know your story.”>

Ellison interrupted. <“No. He cannot meet your gods.”>

The native stared up at Ellison, trying to see the eyes shadowed by the raised torch. <“My gods are not a threat, guardian. Your totem will not allow it.”>

Ellison didn’t translate the last statement for the others. His jaw clinched and he was ready to grab Blair’s hand and pull him into the sunlight, when Jackson intervened. 

“I’ll go, Seer. I would be honored to meet your gods.” Jackson nodded at Ellison and Sandburg, his eyes pleading with them. 

Ellison translated the request. Seer’s eyes did not leave Ellison’s. The sentinel didn’t look away. The contest of wills ended when Seer nodded toward Jackson. 

<“You may come. But you may not speak.”> The old man shuffled toward the entrance. 

Jackson took the torch from Ellison. “If I’m with him, I can read the symbols on the pedestal as he opens the gate. At least we’ll know the address of where he is contacting.”

“If it is one you have been to before,” Sandburg stated, questioning, “or if it’s one that we know about from the Tok’ra.” 

Jackson followed the elder native, leaving Ellison and Sandburg alone in the dark. 

After a second, Sandburg fumbled for a small penlight in a pocket and flicked it on. He aimed it at the series of drawings again. 

“Penny for your thoughts, Chief.” Jim spoke from the darkness. 

“They’re worth at least a nickel, Jim.” 

“Sandburg —” 

“Okay, okay.” Blair eased against Jim and accepted the arms that immediately encircled his waist with a sigh. “I was thinking of King Tut’s tomb. What Howard Carter must have felt when he found the tomb, what he was thinking when he realized what he’d found. His journals state that he was awed, elated and terrified all at the same time. I think I have an inkling of what he must have felt.” 

“Supposedly, King Tut’s tomb was cursed, Chief.” Ellison tightened his grip on his partner. Sandburg turned the tiny penlight up so he could see Jim’s face. There was no humor in Jim’s eyes. 

“Just a myth, Jim. An urban legend.” Blair soaked in the warmth of the arms pressing his body into the pillar of strength holding on to him. 

Jim stared at Blair. “I’m not sure about that. Not after what we’ve been through.” He looked around the dark room, even his eyes finding it hard to see the stone pools along one wall, or all of the drawings etched into the stone. “Let’s get out of here.” 

 

Jackson followed the shaman through the jungle, trying to ask questions in a language he didn’t know, getting answers he couldn’t understand. The archeologist left his vest and pack behind, only carrying a notepad tucked into a pocket and a canteen on his belt. The heat was weighing heavily on his body and sweat rolled down his back. His shirt was wrapped around his waist and his green tee shirt was soaked. The old man leaned on his walking stick, but his speed never lessened. The path that had taken the SG-1 team hours to hack out of the jungle was being transited in half that time now. They emerged into the small clearing containing the Stargate and DHD.

The shaman looked at Daniel with concern, but did not block the human’s approach to the pedestal. Instead he lowered himself to his knees and leaning on his walking stick, began to chant. After several long minutes, he climbed back to his feet and unwound another leather cord from under his shirt. He carefully freed it from his hair and held it high in both hands facing the gate. Daniel watched as the shaman lowered his hand and began to touch the symbols on the pedestal controlling the gate. The human scrambled for his notepad and pen to get down the symbols and their sequence. The gate began to hum and turn, as each chevron locked in place. The wormhole formed and the shaman once more dropped to his knees, chanting. Seer struggled back to his feet and climbed the stones leading to the gate, pausing to chant something on each stair. At the top, Seer held the item on the leather cord high in the air, then tossed it into the wormhole. Seer touched the surface of the ‘light pool’ with a finger then backed away. 

Daniel remained silent as the gate was deactivated and Seer approached him. Jackson wasn’t sure what he’d seen tossed into the open Stargate, but he was sure it was it was more than a stone carving or a piece of wood. It had flashed in the sun for just a moment, making Daniel think it was metal. Seer pointed back towards the temple and started back down the trail. He stumbled more and braced himself from tree to tree as he went. Daniel took the elderly elbow and steadied the shaman as they walked. The shaman talked as they walked and Daniel wished he had remembered the translator or understood the language more. All he could do was nod in the right moments. 

 

Ellison sat down on the top step of the temple next to O’Neill and Teal’C. Only Tulock remained from the hunting party. The group had returned to their tribe, carrying the game they’d killed, leaving Tulock behind. Tulock explained that two would return, bringing their chieftain with them. They promised to return before the sun set in two days. O’Neill questioned why they weren’t being invited to the village, but kept his thoughts to himself. Sometimes it was safer not to know too much about the indigenous inhabitants. 

“Think Hammond is getting a little nervous about how long we’ve been here?” Ellison questioned the colonel. 

“Maybe. He’s used to his SG teams disappearing and being out of touch for hours at a time. SOP is no rescue parties for at least 24 hours. Gives the teams a chance to work out things themselves.” 

“Must be tough to be your commanding officer. There aren’t many rule books written about first contact missions.” 

O’Neill flashed a smirk at Ellison. “My memoir will be a best seller.”

“I’m sure.” Ellison’s eyes were on Sandburg, Tulock and Teal’C. The young native hunter was teaching Blair how to handle his bow with limited results. Sam watched from a perch on a step, hands draped around her rifle, eyes periodically sweeping the area. ‘On watch’, Ellison mentally noted. One thing he’d noticed during his time with this team; someone was always on watch. It wasn’t discussed, it wasn’t an assigned duty, it was just there. The routine of standing guard spoke of a team used to running into trouble, and dealing with it on their own. 

Teal’C joined them and nodded toward the trees. “Dr. Jackson is returning.” The humans descended to the jungle floor as the two men cleared the jungle. 

Jackson was supporting Seer and Sandburg ran to the older man. He took an elbow and helped Seer to a rough seat on the stone step.  
Seer waved off the help and panted for a few minutes before glaring at the group around him. <“I am an old man. I have walked a long ways today. When you are an old man, you can be tired too.”>

Ellison translated Seer’s words with a chuckle. <“Did you talk to your gods?”>

Seer shrugged. <“I called. If they answer, we will know.”>

Ellison looked askance at Jackson.

Jackson shook his head. “He opened the gate and then threw something into it. I don’t know what it was.” 

Sam looked at the colonel. “Now what?” 

O’Neill looked at Ellison. “There’s no reason to stay here. We’ve filmed the interior of the temple. There is nothing here that we can use in our fight against the Goa’uld.”

Sandburg was kneeling in front of Seer, but his eyes were on Ellison. He nodded to his partner, slightly. He looked at the elder shaman. “Thank you for walking with me.” 

Ellison translated the statement and added his own. <“May your gods smile on your journeys.”>

Seer looked from Ellison to Sandburg, then at the rest of the humans who were gathering their gear. He touched Sandburg’s hand and asked softly, <“ You will leave? When will you return?”>

Sandburg shook his head, then looked at O’Neill. When O’Neill shrugged, Sandburg smiled at the elder. <“We have to ask our gods. Perhaps we will return before long.”>

<“Our chieftain is wanting to meet you. He comes to greet the guardian and shaman from one of the stars in the night sky. You must return.”> Seer waited for Ellison to translate. He looked at O’Neill. <“You will tell your gods that you must return before end of the second sun.”>

O’Neill nodded and pasted a smile on his face. <“I will ask.”>

Seer nodded. <“I will be waiting at the pool of light for your return, before the sun disappears, in two days.”>

O’Neill had no answer for the old man’s determination. He motioned for his team and they said goodbye to Tulock before disappearing into the jungle. 

 

“You’re not going back!” Sandburg backed his sentinel against the door in the quarters they shared. “You had the vision of my wolf protecting you. Fine! I’m protecting you! YOU’RE NOT GOING!” 

“Fine. Then you’re not going either. That old man is just an old man who expects to get what he wants. He expects you to do what he wants. You owe him NOTHING. Yes, he’s a Shaman. Yes, he seems to recognize that we have certain abilities. But he’s also a threat. If his ‘gods’ are the ones on the temple walls, you’re in danger. You’re not going back to the planet without me.” Jim crossed his arms and stared down at his partner, jaw clinched. 

They had barely gotten through the Stargate before the argument started. From Jim’s point of view, there was no reason to return. They had learned nothing of use against the Goa’uld, which was their stated reasons. They had not met a ‘sentinel’ or ‘guide’, only seen drawings of ancient history. He felt no obligations to a tribe on another planet. 

Sandburg glared at Ellison and stomped away for a moment. He stared at the almost empty bookshelf not seeing the few treasured books he’d carried from the loft. When he returned to confront Jim, he tried a different tack. “Jim, I’m a teacher and a scientist. I have this burning need to ‘learn’ all I can about something different. While the tribe doesn’t have a sentinel, their ‘gods’ knew about them. Maybe on another planet, sentinels are raised and trained to fight against the Goa’uld. Have you thought about that? Don’t you think we should find out?”

Jim shook his head. “No. All we know is that people with enhanced senses were used as hosts. True, that may have changed in the generations that have passed. But I’m not interested in finding out, and I’m not interested in you finding out either. If things haven’t changed since the drawings on the temple walls, your life would be in jeopardy. You died once, Chief. We were lucky. I’m not risking you again. End of discussion.” 

Blair wrapped his arms around Jim’s waist. “You’re not risking me. With you on this side of the ’gate, I am no use to any ‘gods’.” 

“You’re still not going back without me, Chief. Together, or not at all.” Jim returned the hug. “Now that we’ve gotten that out of our systems, we need to get to that briefing.”

Blair tightened his arms around his Sentinel. “We haven’t gotten it out of our systems, Jim. We’ve just tabled it for now. While we’re working for Hammond, I think he has the final say so on our missions, right? Kinda like Simon and the cases we took.” 

Jim nodded over Blair’s head. He looked down on the curls resting under his chin and resisted the temptation to mouth the long, warm, fragrant locks. 

“So let’s go to the briefing room and see what Hammond and his crew have to say.” Blair’s head bobbed against Jim’s chest. “Then I want a long shower and some pizza.” He released Jim from the hold he had around the slim waist. “I swear a few insects made a nest in my hair last night.” 

“Trust me, Chief, if a bug was in your hair, I’d know about it.” 

“I bet you would.” Blair headed out the door, Jim on his heels. 

 

The conference room was crowded and noisy when Ellison and Sandburg entered. Jackson had the floor, waving a laser pointer at a screen showing the pictographs from the temple. The scientist was overlaying it with samples of work from Egyptian temples, Roman sculptures and Mayan/Aztec temples. He was obviously in his element, and just as obviously losing Hammond in the information overload. Sandburg slid into his seat, but Ellison remained standing behind his partner. They had only been back on Earth for three hours, long enough to put together a synopsis of what they had encountered, to quickly clean up and change clothes. 

Hammond looked at Ellison, one eyebrow in the air. Ellison ignored the general. 

“I think we need to go back. The location that Seer dialed in doesn’t match any location we have been too. It also doesn’t match the list the Tok’ra provided us.” Jackson was speaking to Hammond, but looking at Ellison. “There may be a planet where Sentinels are a force against the Goa’uld.” 

Ellison felt Sandburg tense in his seat and placed his hand on his seated partner’s shoulder. Sandburg looked up at Jim, knowing what the Sentinel was thinking. 

“What will a return trip do for us?” Hammond looked at O’Neill. “Or are we jeopardizing ourselves for a minimal return?” 

“Seer contacted their ‘gods’. This could be a good thing. We might find a planet with a resource lost to us,” Jackson enthused to the room. 

“Or it could jeopardize the one Sentinel that we have working with us. I don’t think so,” O’Neill stated firmly. 

“I agree.” Teal’C nodded toward O’Neill. 

“I disagree.” Sam looked around. “We’re looking for a technical way to defeat the Goa’uld. Perhaps we need to look at a ‘human’ solution. If we find a group of humans who have turned their enhanced senses into a force against the Goa’uld, maybe they can help us.” 

“I agree.” The words slipped out of Sandburg’s lips without thought. 

“Maybe, Chief. But you’re still not going back to that planet,” Jim’s voice whispered in the silence. 

“Neither are you,” Sandburg whispered back. 

Hammond looked at the two newest members of his command. “I take it that you feel that going back there is not a good idea.” 

“Yes.” Ellison. 

“No.” Sandburg.

Hammond looked at them, then at O’Neill. “Recommendations?” 

O’Neill looked at his team. “A good nights sleep, some food. We’ll discuss it in the morning and let you know.” 

“Very well. Dismissed.” Hammond watched as the SG-1 team filed out, leaving O’Neill still sitting with the general. With a nod, Ellison pulled the door closed behind them. 

Sam stopped Ellison with a touch on the arm as they walked toward their quarters. “Jim, I know you don’t know to trust me yet, but I’ve hosted a Goa’uld for a short time. Not all of them are bent on conquering the galaxy. My father is hosting one now, on another planet. Seer’s gods could be like the Tok’ra and that would be a good thing for us.” 

Ellison looked at Sam’s intent face. “Maybe, Captain Carter. But I don’t know that. I’m a cop. A cop believes in evidence. And right now, we don’t have any evidence that Seer’s gods are benevolent ones.” 

“Then don’t you think we should find some evidence, Detective Ellison?” Sam turned on her heel and walked away, leaving Ellison and Sandburg to stare after her.


	7. Chapter 7

Nobody seemed interested in leaving the mountain compound for their homes so SG-1 commandeered a conference room for pizza and poker. The poker game turned into a strategy session, with ‘what ifs’ and ‘maybes’ the subject of discussion. At the end of it, nobody’s opinions had changed, which left any decisions to be made up to O’Neill. The team retired for the night with Sandburg the only one gaining from the poker game. 

“Chief, are you going to hog the shower all night? You’re not the only one who slept on the ground,” Ellison called from the small sofa he was sprawled on. 

“Yeah, but you don’t have hair.” Sandburg’s voice called through the mostly closed door. 

“There are ways to solve that, you know.” 

Jim sat up as Sandburg emerged from the tiny bathroom, a towel around his hips, another around his head and rubbing furiously. “I am not cutting my hair, Ellison. I thought we had this discussion.” 

Jim got up and walked past the nearly nude man, snagging the towel off the hips as he went. “We did, Chief.” Jim closed the door behind him. “And I never said I wanted you to cut your hair,” he yelled as he started the water.

Blair stood in the room, nude and wet except for the towel in his hair. He stared at the closed door. Part of him wanted to turn around, charge into the warm, steamy room and rescue his towel. The other part of him just smiled at Jim’s actions. It was just another indication of the closeness that was so important to them and the depth it was taking. He pulled on a clean pair of boxers and went into the kitchen to put on the tea kettle. 

Jim finished his shower and wiped the mirror clear. His sensitive nose picked up the flowery smell of the tea Sandburg was brewing. The scent made him smile. Their departure from Cascade had been rushed, but Blair had stashed a bag of his favorite teas in his luggage. It was a little piece of home that they shared every night. Shaving two days of stubble off his face made him feel a thousand times cleaner and hearing Blair humming as he made tea, made him feel safe. Jim looked at himself in the mirror. Now if he could just convince Sandburg to drop this infatuation with the history of the alien tribe, he’d feel almost normal. 

He wrapped Blair’s towel around his waist and headed for the bedroom. Dressed in clean sweats, warm and dry, he returned to the kitchen to his mug of tea Blair had waiting. Blair looked up as Jim perched on the tiny stool in the kitchenette. 

“Better?” 

Jim nodded. “I still haven’t changed my mind, Chief. If O’Neill decides to return to the planet, the only way you go is with me at your side.” 

Blair sighed. “I don’t like to admit it, but I’d be scared to death if you weren’t with me. Will you promise me that if you see your jaguar or my wolf, you’ll grab me and we’ll leap for home?” 

“That’s an easy promise, Chief. I’ll go one better. If I dream of them tonight, I’ll tell you and we’ll follow their instructions.” 

Blair smirked at Jim. “Do you realize what you just said? You just admitted that you have visions and will share them with me and obey the spirit animals. Man, let me grab the calendar. I’ve got to write this date down.” 

Jim shook his head. “Just remember, Chief, you promised.” 

 

The next day passed with most of SG-1 on pins and needles. Sandburg and Jackson were incognito in Jackson’s lab, only appearing for food. Teal’C was just as close mouthed on what they were doing, only stating that he wished he’d paid more attention to fairy tales and legends as a child. Jim and Jack spent the day at the shooting range. Hammond spent the day on the phone with Washington. When they assembled for a conference after dinner, SG-1 was given their marching orders to return to PA-175. 

 

The Stargate’s wormhole exploded outward as the SG-1 team watched from the departure ramp. On PA-175 the sun was two hours from setting. O’Neill looked at his team, mentally checking gear and preparedness. They didn’t plan to stay long, maybe overnight. Just long enough to see if the natives ‘gods’ showed and if they did, to see if they could be of use in their fight with the Goa’uld. O’Neill didn’t like it, Ellison didn’t like it, neither did Hammond. But the general answered to a higher authority who thought it was worth the risk. O’Neill prowled around the group, trying to tell himself they had met the Asgard during what had started as a hostile situation. 

Sandburg and Ellison were standing slightly to one side of the SG-1 team. Attired in military fatigues, like the others, they still managed to look slightly out of place. Sandburg’s ponytail was protruding from under his military baseball cap and he carried his staff weapon instead of rifle. Ellison carried a rifle over one shoulder, and a blowgun and crossbow with a quiver of darts, across his back. Both were missing the Kevlar vests from before and only Sandburg carried a pack, slung low on his back with a single diagonal strap. The night before they agreed to let their own instincts rule, not military procedures, so the gear they carried was what they were comfortable with. O’Neill would have frowned if he’d known.

“Let’s go.” O’Neill waved his rifle and his team started up the ramp, leaving General Hammond behind and alone except for two military policemen. As they stepped into the wormhole, Jim’s hand found Blair’s and Sentinel and Guide went through together. 

O’Neill emerged first and went left, Teal’C a half second behind him, went right. In practiced, unconscious movements they swept the area with their eyes and weapons. It was empty of intelligent life and O’Neill relaxed slightly. Jackson and Carter emerged next, followed immediately by Ellison and Sandburg. O’Neill looked back at Ellison’s ash colored face. 

“You all right?” 

Jim nodded, his eyes still clinched shut. “I don’t think I could do this on a day to day basis.” He swallowed hard and finally opened his eyes. “Unless it got a whole lot easier.” 

Sandburg was looking at Jim with a faint smile. “Think we could figure out how to make it easier? Besides drugging you?” 

“Don’t know.” Jim released Blair’s hand and both men flexed their hands and shook them. Jim looked at Sandburg as the younger man tried to get some feeling back into his fingers. “Looks like I’m not the only one having a hard time with gate travel.” 

Blair shook his head. “Only with your grip, man.” 

The team descended from the gate and looked around again. Jackson was the first to break the silence. “I thought someone would be here. I thought Seer and Tulock would be at the gate to see who came through.” 

Carter looked toward the temple. “Maybe they are waiting there. There’s shelter there. If we returned, and weren’t met, they would assume that’s where we’d head.” 

O’Neill nodded. “Okay, but stay alert. I don’t like this. Maybe their chief decided we’re a threat to his people and they’re lying in ambush. Or their ‘gods’ arrived and decided that Seer should go with them.” 

Sandburg looked at Jim. “Hear anything out of the ordinary? Can you filter us out and see if there is anybody close?” 

Jim nodded at his guide’s request. He stepped away from the group, followed closely by Sandburg. At the edge of the jungle, he stopped and closed his eyes, head cocked to one side as he listened intently. After a moment he shook his head. “I don’t hear anything that shouldn’t be here. But I do smell smoke from a campfire. It’s very faint.”

Sandburg nodded. “So there is someone at the temple.” 

“Or at least at the hunter’s camp.” He slid the rifle off his shoulder and draped it in the crook of his elbow. “Guess we might as well find out.” They walked down the path they had only traveled a couple days before. It appeared to be larger and more trod, and Ellison pointed that out to the small group. The tension level rose a little more. The temple appeared over the palm fronds and Jim froze, hand up, commanding the rest of the group halt as well. O’Neill looked silently at Ellison, eyebrows in the air. 

“I hear voices. Several of them,” Jim whispered urgently. He quietly pointed off the trail and motioned for Teal’C, Sandburg and O’Neill to take the direction he indicated. He motioned for Jackson and Carter to come with him and he slipped off the trail on the other side. 

Blair stared at his sentinel. He knew why Jim had split them up, but he didn’t like it. Teal’C would protect him, that was a given. But it left the sentinel vulnerable and Blair had fought that battle many times. He followed Teal’C through the jungle, ears listening for anything around them, staff weapon clutched tightly. O’Neill was behind them as they slipped toward the temple. 

Jim listened to Blair’s heartbeat as it grew fainter. He didn’t want to be separated from his shaman, but he knew that Blair was safer with Teal’C, then with him. If they did encounter an enemy, intent on capturing a sentinel, Blair could escape. Jim’s thoughts were on a treadmill that he very seldom could get off of. His actions had threatened his friend again and again. Not this time, he promised himself.

O’Neill froze in a bunch of elephant ear ferns and studied the stone steps. Seer and Tulock were on the steps, standing one level above the three men standing below them. The center man of the group wore an elaborate feather combination in his gray hair. He was listening to the hunched shaman and shaking his head. The height of the man brought him equal to the shaman and their discussion was heated and loud. The young warriors on either side of him were watching their surroundings alertly. All of O’Neill’s instincts were on alert. A moving palm frond caught his eyes and he looked over the trail and found Ellison in his own clump of tall grass. Ellison’s gaze met the colonel’s.

“Hear anything?” O’Neill whispered. He knew from Jim’s expression that the cop had heard him. Jim raised a hand, barely moving. He focused on the temple for a few moments. Then he looked at O’Neill and Sandburg who was almost glued to his shoulder. Barely moving his hand, he showed three fingers, pointed toward the top of the temple, then 2 more and pointed toward the side away from them.

O’Neill nodded. He grabbed Sandburg’s shoulder and forced him down into the ferns and with a flat hand, mouthed “stay”. Then he motioned for Teal’C to follow him and he got up. Without looking back, the human colonel and the Jaffa broke cover and strolled toward the temple.

Jim felt Jackson and Carter move to join their teammates. He glanced at Sandburg, who was watching the scene unfold. 

Sandburg looked at Ellison, his eyes wide. “What now?” he mouthed and Jim could only shake his head and watch. 

Jim knew that tactically, they were at a disadvantage. The other side had the high ground and a vantage point. Their clothing wouldn’t camouflage them for long, especially if someone was actively scanning the terrain. He motioned for Sandburg to retreat and started doing the same, sliding on his belly and trying to stay under the tall ferns. While all visible eyes were on SG-1, they had to get to better cover. 

O’Neill looked at Teal’C with a frown. “Ellison says there are 5 not visible. Think that their ‘gods’ arrived?” 

Teal’C did not answer. Jackson and Carter joined O’Neill and Teal’C as they approached the group of natives at the bottom of the stone staircase. 

Jackson was fiddling with the little palm pilot computer. When the little electronic box beeped, Jackson looked up with a grim smile. “While we were home, Sandburg and I programmed it with every known South American dialect. We should be able to communicate much better this time.” 

“Good going, Danny. We may need it.” The humans stopped several feet from the natives. 

Seer came to meet them, leaning on Tulock. He looked frailer than when the Stargate crew had first met him. His eyes darted from each face, then came back to O’Neill. 

<“Our chief wishes to meet you. Where is the guardian and his shaman?”>

O’Neill glanced at Teal’C. <“The guardian could not come.”> O’Neill stated firmly, his eyes meeting the old shaman’s. 

<“Our gods came. They are pleased that you have opened the temple.”> He pointed to the top of the stairs. <“They say that their history has been long lost.”> When Jack and his team didn’t seem impressed, the shaman motioned for them to come with him. <“You must meet our chief. He wishes to know of your travels. He did not believe you came through the pool of light.”> Seer’s voice dropped to a whisper that sounded smug. <“He did not believe that I could open it.”>

The old man led the group to the man with the elaborate feathers. Seer introduced him as RisMa which the little computer spat out as Rising Moon. The chief was Teal’C’s height and weight and wore a loin cloth with rough leggings. He was not bare-chested like his hunters, instead there were intricate patterns painted on his skin. Jackson peered at them almost long enough to be rude and stated he didn’t think the markings were tattoos.

<“My shaman says you come from the standing pool. He says you traveled from one of the night lights. Does he speak the truth?”>

O’Neill took offense to the words and tone directed at the old man. <“Your shaman tells the truth.”>

<“Seer sent a message to our gods. Now they have returned and say that the stone mountain once belonged to them. Is this also true?”>

O’Neill looked at the shaman and saw fear in the dark eyes. Instantly, an earlier conversation came back to him. Seer’s tribe thought he was too old to be of use. The expression on the chief’s face as he looked at the hunched, ragged man confirmed O’Neill’s thoughts. The chief was looking for a reason to appoint someone younger, someone the chief could control, no doubt. The assumptions made O’Neill’s stomach crawl. 

<“Seer call your gods. If your gods say the temple is theirs, who are we to argue with a god?”>

The chief grunted. He looked at the ones with O’Neill and grunted at each introduction. Then he turned to Tulock and said something quietly to the young hunter. Tulock immediately dashed up the stairs and into the open gap in the temple wall. 

Ellison watched Tulock run up the stairs to the entrance into the temple. Jim was almost completely hidden in a combination of tall grass and thick clumps of young palm trees. At his location, he had to use his enhanced sight to see the goings on around the temple. Blair was at his side, burrowed deeper in the shadows. The sun was almost gone and the overhead sky was crimson and purple as clouds started to roll in. 

“What do we do?” Sandburg whispered. 

“We wait and see who or what comes out of the temple. It’ll be dark soon. Either we’ll have to join O’Neill or return to the Stargate and go back. I don’t think you want to spend the night in the open jungle.” 

“Why not? Won’t be the first time. It’s not like we’re not prepared for it.” Sandburg thumped the pack he was carrying. 

“True enough. Okay, we won’t go back if we don’t join O’Neill’s team.” Jim turned his attention back to the people at the temple. With Blair at his side and holding on to his forearm, he sent his senses spiraling out, listening intently to what was happening at the temple. 

“What can you see?” Blair whispered, squinting at the temple in the fading light. He could make out bodies moving about, but that was about it. 

“Tulock went inside the entrance. I can see flickering light moving around. I’m assuming there are others inside.” 

“And O’Neill, the others?” 

“They’re at the base of the temple, waiting.” He glanced at his partner, who was intently studying the shadows he couldn’t see through. “O’Neill didn’t want to reveal our presence. I agree. If their ‘gods’ turn out to be the bad guys, we have the option of mounting a rescue or retreating through the gate and returning with reinforcements. If we’re all compromised, it’d be 24 hours before Hammond will attempt rescue. A lot can happen in 24 hours. O’Neill knows that. He’s trying to give himself as many options as possible.” Ellison watched the flickering lights inside the temple entrance brighten until torches were revealed. 

Behind Tulock were three men, strangers in Ellison’s eyes. But he recognized the clothing from videos of past Stargate missions. From the way O’Neill and the others reacted, so did they. 

O’Neill’s, Jackson’s and Carter’s rifles immediately came up. Teal’C’s staff weapon open, ready to fire. Two of the men on the stone platform wore the gray steel-mesh armor of the Goa’uld soldier. The third was dressed in a gold version of the steel mesh, but slightly more ornamental. His gold skullcap reflected the torch light back on the stone walls. 

“This isn’t good,” Ellison whispered to Blair. “O’Neill’s team just raised their weapons. Start crawling for the gate, Chief. I’ll be right behind you.” 

“We can’t just leave them!” Sandburg whispered frantically. “Supposed O’Neill is just overreacting? Or maybe he’s just being cautious.”  
“Ever hear ‘discretion is the better part of valor’? I’m not leaving, just getting us closer in case we have to run for it. Move, Chief. And stay undercover.” 

The two men started scooting back toward the trail they’d used before, Jim still listening. He didn’t like what he was hearing and paused to let his sight focus once again on the temple. 

 

O’Neill looked at the Goa’uld on the stone platform. “Shit.” All weapons were up and were pointing at the armored aliens instantly.  
Beside them RisMa looked alarmed. He stepped in front of O’Neill, pushed Teal’C’s staff weapon down. <“Is this how you greet a god? They came to meet you and you threaten them. You should be on your knees.”> The native chief was furious, hands on his hips and glaring at the smaller human. 

<“They are no gods.”> Jackson stated firmly. His eyes never left the leader of the three descending the stairway. <“They wear the clothing of a great enemy.”>

“I am Balam.” The gold dressed leader proclaimed. “I came to this ancient ruin because my people received word that one like us is here.” Balam spoke first to the chief, in his language, then in stilted English to O’Neill. “I do not see him here.” 

O’Neill slowly took off his baseball cap and just as slowly wiped his forehead before resettling the cap. “Sorry. How do you know it isn’t one of us?” He glanced to Daniel, then to Sam, before facing the alien leader again. 

“I would know. I would sense his presence if he was among you.” 

O’Neill shrugged. “Sorry, he’s a little shy.” The humans lowered their weapons slightly, relaxing a bit since nobody was actively shooting at them. 

Balam dismissed the humans standing in front of him. Instead he stepped away and looked into the jungle. He froze for a long minute, then seemed to shake himself. He glanced at his two companions and pointed into the almost dark jungle. Immediately the Goa’uld took off into the near darkness, small intense lanterns lighting the way.

Ellison grunted at the bobbing lights and scooted back to his partner. “One of them has a few enhanced senses. I think he hears or smells us. I don’t think he can see us though, too dark. Even I have problems. Keep going, Chief. Head for the ‘gate.” 

Sandburg remained silent. He was making enough noise just trying to move in the darkness. They were on the trail, but it was too dark to stay on it without help. Jim took Sandburg’s hand and tried leading him but the trail was littered with roots, limbs and hacked palm fronds. It only took a few steps for him to fall and crash into the ground. His stumble and fall dragged Ellison down with him. 

“This isn’t working, Jim. If there is someone with enhanced senses following us, we’re too noisy. We’ve got to hide.” Blair whispered frantically as he climbed to his feet, using Jim as a ladder, then pulled Jim up. 

Jim made an instant decision. He pushed Blair off the trail and pulled busted limbs over him. “Stay put, Chief. I mean it.” Then the sentinel was gone, back up the trail and toward the bouncing lights.

“Jim, No!” Blair whispered. He knew what his partner was doing, knew why. But he stayed where his partner put him, knowing inside, that his freedom was Jim’s only chance. He sank deeper into the leaves and tried not to scream in frustration and fear for partner.

Ellison approached the lights cautiously. He didn’t really have a plan. If these newcomers were benevolent, he’d know in a minute. If they were hostile, at least Sandburg was safe. Perhaps they wouldn’t want anything to do with O’Neill’s team and would ignore them. Jim stopped in the trail, hands away from his body and waited for the searching beams to find him. ‘If wishes were horses,’ he silently told himself. 

Jim didn’t resist when the two aliens motioned for him to come with them. He walked boldly, his stride fast, anything to keep them from thinking that he wasn’t alone and continue with their search. 

O’Neill frowned at Ellison as he was escorted out of the jungle, but his eyes were full of questions. Jim shook his head slightly and O’Neill nodded, the message passed. 

Balam stared at Ellison. He didn’t say anything, just inhaled deeply a few times. When he spoke, his words were hushed. “My people lost true guardians a long time ago. I despaired of ever meeting a man who saw the world so differently. You are honored and revered among my people. Is it the same with you?”

Ellison started to speak when a growl at his feet startled him. He looked down at the jaguar who was looking up at him. The cat’s hackles were raised and his gold eyes fully dilated in the torch light. Next to the huge shadowed cat, a wolf was crouched, hackles raised, fangs bared. The wolf was squarely between the jaguar and the alien. 

Jim looked at Balam and shrugged, not verbally replying. The alien stared at Ellison for a moment longer, then his hand whipped up and his palm glowed with a Goa’uld weapon, his eyes glowing with the Symbiote’s power within. 

O’Neill, Carter and Teal’C reacted, their own weapons coming up but they were immediately blocked by the other Goa’uld and RisMa.  
Tulock and Seer looked confused at the scene unfolding in front of them and together they tried to rush to Ellison. One of RisMa’s attendants stopped them. 

The light from the palm weapon captured Ellison’s face and he fell to his knees, grabbing his head with a cry. The light held him for several seconds then Balam closed his palm. Ellison crumbled to the ground and was still. 

Balam looked at the human crumpled at his feet. “He hides his talents. Take him to the temple. We must prepare him for the joining.” 

The two Goa’uld warriors hurried to comply, dragging the limp body up the stairs, grunting as they struggled. Balam pulled out a Goa’uld Zatgun and pointed it at O’Neill’s team. “I have no need for you, or for these primitives. If you do not interfere, I will let you live.” His eyes glowed golden for a moment and his voice deepened. “I have only three senses that are stronger than yours. When the old shaman tossed the artifact into the Stargate, it told us that someone stronger than I had been found. The traits for enhanced senses have been growing rarer over the centuries and we have never successfully bred it into our offspring. I will inform my lord that we have found him a new host, one that is stronger then all of us. He will be pleased.” 

“Captain Ellison would rather die then be enslaved,” Teal’C growled. 

Balam turned his glowing eyes on the Jaffa. “Why do you protest? You carry a larva within your body, Jaffa. Without it, you will sicken and die. I carry a grown Goa’uld within. I am years older than you, and will be alive years after all of you are dead. Your ‘guardian’ will be made to understand the gift we offer him.” 

The rage in O’Neill’s eyes exploded outward and he struck out against RisMa who was holding his weapon arm. His movement distracted Balam for a second and Jackson and Teal’C also moved, with Carter right behind them.

Their hand to hand combat skills rapidly overwhelmed the young warriors who were trying to protect their ‘god’ and their chief. O’Neill’s team did not want to use their weapons or severely injure the natives. 

Balam had no concern with either issue and his weapon fired indiscriminately, finally stunning everyone but the chief. Balam looked at the crumpled bodies scattered at his feet. He met the chief’s eyes. <“Your god is pleased that you did not interfere. You will be rewarded.”> Then he turned and climbed the stairs into the temple. 

Sandburg watched from a closer clump of grass, barely able to keep from running into the middle of things when Jim collapsed. He had only remained hidden where Jim had left him for a few minutes, then on hands and knees, he’d crept back up the trail in the dark, freezing at every noise and flinching at every leaf, bush or disturbed branch. He’d watched Jim being dragged up the stairs and the short fight that left the Stargate team senseless on the ground. 

When the Goa’uld climbed the stairs and disappeared into the darkness, Blair took the chance and emerged from the jungle. He reached the chief and glared at the man. <“How dare you betray him? Do you know what he is?”> Sandburg almost shouted, remembering at the last second that there was someone near by who might be able to hear him. His command of the language wasn’t good, but his tone and body language got the thought across. Blair dismissed the native chief and went to O’Neill’s side. The colonel stirred under Blair’s touch and he struggled to sit up. 

“Thought you were supposed to stay hid,” O’Neill mumbled. He rubbed his head and neck. 

“Yeah, well, that’s what Jim thought too. You okay?” 

“I’ll live.” O’Neill called out the rest of the team’s name as they moved and confirmed they weren’t any worse for wear. He remained sitting on the ground as he glared at the natives who were stirring and groaning. When he finally climbed to his feet, he stumbled to RisMa. The chief glared defiantly at the smaller human. 

“Daniel, you still got that translator? Still work?” 

“Sure, Jack.” The scientist handed his commanding officer the small computer. 

O’Neill looked at the chief. <“Your ‘god’ just stole a member of my team. We’re going to get him back. If you know what is good for you, you won’t be here when we do it.”>

RisMa looked at his warriors who were gathered around him. <“ Even though I have never seen them, I have heard the stories of when they walked our land and chose our people to serve them. Our gods protect us. They take what they want. Your friend has been chosen. That is the way it is.”>

<“Not where we come from.”> Sandburg glared at the larger man, his eyes furious in the torch light. He looked at O’Neill, then the rest of the team, his eyes finally landing on Seer and Tulock. <“Seer, the legend of a guardian’s bond with a shaman, do you know the story?”>

The shaman looked at his leader in fear, but answered the human. <“I have heard the story. I do not know the truth of it.”>

Sandburg gripped his staff weapon a little tighter. He glared at the chief again. <“Guess I’ll find out.”>

He turned and started up the steps, moving slowly in the almost nonexistent light. Two moons had risen, one near full, the other a thin crescent. The pale white light outlined the stone temple and cast Blair’s shadow up the stairs, making him look as if a giant strode toward the entrance. 

O’Neill’s gaze followed the young man as he determinedly trotted up the stairs, then faced the chief again. <“If you don’t want to offend your gods, I suggest you return to your tribe. This is our battle.”>

RisMa gathered his escort to him with a hurried motion. When Seer and Tulock did not move, the chief frowned and uttered a low guttural warning that the translator did not understand. The old man did not move, but his shoulders sagged in defeat. Tulock looked from the chief to the shaman, then to O’Neill. Reluctantly, he joined his tribesmen. In moments they were gone, vanished into the darkness of the jungle. 

O’Neill touched the old shaman. <“You did not have to stay. You belong with your people.”>

Seer shook his head. <“I am an old man. My usefulness is coming to an end. I will stand with you. I will not be cowered by gods who steal other people.”>

O’Neill nodded and slapped the old man lightly on the shoulder. “Let’s go rescue our guardian then. Teal’C, lead the way. Sam, watch our backs. I wouldn’t put it past RisMa to come after us after thinking about things a little bit.”

The Earth team started up the stairs, Daniel helping Seer climb the tall stone steps. The team pulled out flashlights from their packs and mounted them to their rifles. They quit trying to be covert in their approach. 

Blair paused at the blackness in the stone gap. Voices echoed from the interior of the temple and every now and then a light flickered, cutting the inky darkness for a second. He shed his backpack and from inside took Jim’s backup holster and pistol and strapped it to his leg, just below the knee. The penlight he had in his pocket, he taped to the handle of his staff weapon and turned it on. At the bottom of his pack he found the machete he’d used in the jungle just a few days ago. The sheath holding the machete went across his back. 

Then Sandburg closed his eyes and tried to slow his breathing, calm his frantic heart rate and center himself. He had to convince them to let his sentinel go. And if he couldn’t do that, Blair had promised Jim that he would not be taken as a host. Blair opened his eyes and slipped into the rock. The tiny beacon lit his path into the temple chamber. The aliens within had their backs to Sandburg and the anthropologist froze in a shadow to study the scene in front of him. 

The leader was facing Jim, who was kneeling, eyes closed, face slack. Blair wasn’t sure if the Sentinel was conscious. He was being steadied by two of the Goa’uld warriors as the leader chanted over his head. The leader dipped his fingers into some type of bowl and held them, dripping, over Jim’s head. As soon as the first drops touched the sentinel’s skin, Jim screamed and jerked away. 

“I wouldn’t do that again, if I was you,” Blair growled, his voice echoing off the stone walls. He stepped out of the shadows; staff weapon open and energized. Without hesitation, he shot the Goa’uld warriors, leaving the golden leader unprotected. 

Balam turned when he heard Sandburg’s voice and didn’t flinch when his men collapsed to the stone floor. Without their support, Jim also fell, withering in pain and crying in tiny agonizing screams. His hands were tied behind his back and he curled into a tight ball, frantically rubbing his head against the stone and his pants. 

“Jim, can you hear me? Dial it down, man. I’ll be there in a moment.” He motioned for Balam to step away from the moaning man. “What did you do to him?” Blair circled, his weapon steady, but glancing between Jim and Balam.

When he stood in front of his injured partner, with the weapon poised, he demanded, “What is that stuff?” Blair rocked his chin toward the bowl in Balam’s hand. 

Balam looked at the slight man facing him, then down at the bowl of liquid. “It is a trial of his senses. If he is truly gifted, this” he dipped his fingers into the fluid, “will burn like fire, but not harm.” 

The Goa’uld smiled. “I do not believe we have been introduced. I am Balam.” His eyes flashed gold for a second. “My host can tell when there is someone gifted like the man you protect. And you are?” 

A dozen names went through Sandburg’s mind, but he only uttered one. “I am Shaman to my Sentinel. I guard him so he can protect the tribe.”

Balam glanced at the drawings lit spottedly by the smoking torches. “We have legends, but did not realize the truth still exists.” His eyes glowed again for a moment. “Our legends say that once a guardian is bonded to a shaman, he is useless to us as a host. Is that true?” 

Blair shrugged. “Place the bowl on the floor and back away, against the wall.” 

The alien moved to comply, bending gracefully at the waist. At the last moment he lobbed the bowl and its contents toward the man on the floor. Sandburg had expected Balam to try something. The staff intercepted the bowl like a baseball and sent it flying. The contents splashed harmlessly on Blair’s pants.  
The palm weapon on Balam’s hand glowed and he aimed it at Sandburg, moving swiftly while the human’s attention was on the bowl. 

The light barely touched the young shaman before O’Neill yelled. “BALAM!” The energy charge from a Zatgun reached out and jolted the Goa’uld. Balam collapsed, inches from Blair’s feet. 

Sandburg looked up at O’Neill in surprise, then touched his forehead for a second, feeling where the Goa’uld weapon had brushed him. “About time the cavalry arrived,” he mumbled, then turned to Ellison, dropping to his knees and rolling Jim onto his back. He wanted to pull the larger man into his lap, but feared that the moisture in his clothes could still harm his Sentinel. “Jim, can you hear me?”

Ellison groaned, but didn’t acknowledge Blair’s presence. Sandburg wiped at the liquid on Jim’s face and in his hair. He felt blisters on the thinly protected scalp and winced. 

“Daniel, give me a hand. You got a water bottle and a rag, handkerchief, tissue, anything?” 

Daniel slid out of his pack and dropped it to the floor. He frantically dug through it, coming up with a first aid kit and the requested items. 

O’Neill ignored the first aid actions and motioned for Sam and Teal’C to help him secure the Goa’uld. They used whatever they could find to tie the unconscious Goa’uld. By the time they were finished, the two men Sandburg shot were waking and staring at the humans standing over them. 

Seer hobbled into the temple room, panting from the climb. The elderly shaman looked at his ‘gods’. <“They are men? Like us?”>

He looked at O’Neill. <“Not quite like us, but close. They serve a leader who tries to enslave people who don’t believe the same as he.”>

Seer shambled to Sandburg and bracing himself on Blair’s shoulder, knelled down. He took Ellison’s hand. <“Your guardian. He is injured. Our gods did this?”>

Blair wiped Jim’s face and hair, then took a small tube of cream from Daniel and started dabbing at the tiny blisters. <“Yes, Seer. Your gods wanted him to become one of them. I could not let that happen.”>

Jim moaned and opened his eyes. He looked into Blair’s smiling eyes, then at the two men hovering around him. “You okay, Chief?” 

Blair nodded. “Feel like sitting up?” He helped Jim halfway upright and braced the bigger man against his shoulder. “How’s the head?” 

Jim rubbed his temples, then gently touched a couple of well medicated spots on his forehead. “Sore. What happened?” 

“Don’t ever growl at me about my tests, Jim. There’s no comparison.” 

O’Neill nodded to himself when Jim sat up. One objective accomplished. He glanced at Sam who was working at tying Balam and disarming him. The Zatgun was tossed toward Daniel’s pack. O’Neill frowned when he saw Balam start to stir. Sam had tied his ankles, but his hands were free because the captain was trying to remove the palm weapon. 

O’Neill yelled, swinging his rifle up to fire on the Goa’uld. Balam moved, shoving Sam to one side. Balam rolled away from Sam, his eyes glowing as he thrust his hand forward, the palm weapon aimed at Ellison, who was still reclining on Sandburg’s shoulder. 

Seer saw the danger to the guardian and with a small smile moved in front of the light from the glowing weapon. 

O’Neill fired at the Goa’uld. The rifle sound echoed through the chamber, startling everyone. 

The shaman and Goa’uld collapsed together. 

Silence. 

“Seer!” Sandburg moved first. He reached for the old man who was struggling to move, using Ellison’s leg as a brace.

The native rolled over, his head on Jim’s knee. He looked at Sandburg with a smile in his eyes. <“If I had ... been blessed … with a guardian. I would have … done the same. Protect him, Shaman.”> He reached out a gnarled shaky hand and wrapped it around Sandburg’s. <“My gods … have left me. I have no reason... to stay. If I have ... any gifts ... I give them ... to you ... for your tribe.”> The bright brown eyes faded, but his grip remained on Sandburg’s hand for several minutes before relaxing. 

Sandburg looked at Jim, who shook his head. “It shouldn’t have killed him,” he whispered to Daniel. 

Daniel shook his head. “Probably didn’t. He was an old man who saw everything he believed in be wrong. He lost his tribe when he came with us to rescue you. His last act to protect Ellison probably was the final blow to his heart. There is a Klingon saying about it being a good day to die. In his eyes, it was.” 

“Crazy Horse said it first.” Sandburg whispered as he freed his hand from the limp grip and closed the faded brown eyes. ‘It is a good day to die! Strong hearts to the front, weak hearts to the rear.’ Battle of Little Big Horn.”

Ellison touched the old man’s forehead with a thumb stroke. “Crazy Horse would have been honored to know him.” He climbed to his feet and then lifted the frail body. He carried it to one of the empty stone pools and lowered Seer to the cold stone. “Chief, did you bring incense and some of those herbs you’re always drinking?”

Sandburg looked at Jim for a second as the Sentinel looked down at the body. “Be right back.” He darted outside to where he left his pack and came back with it. Without a word he opened a side pocket and handed a small baggie to Jim. 

“Take the others outside, Chief. Them too.” He nodded to the bound aliens. “Wait at the bottom of the stairs.”

Sandburg nodded and touched Jim’s arm for a second before turning to the others. With a ‘shooing’ motion with his hands, he urged the Stargate team out. Daniel and Teal’C forced the two prisoners to their feet and through the stone arch. Outside, the moons had set and the sky was beginning to brighten with the light of a false dawn. O’Neill motioned for his people to take the prisoners down the staircase while he waited for Sandburg to emerge. 

“What’s he doing in there?” Jack demanded when Sandburg emerged.

“Last rites for a Chopec Shaman. When Incacha died, we took him back to the Chopec. We helped his tribe perform the burial ritual. Jim wants Seer to have the ritual, or as close as he can make it.” 

Jack shook his head. “Do I want to know who Incacha is and how he died?” They started down the stairs together. 

“Nope to both questions. Ask Jim someday. He might tell you. He might not.” 

They joined the small group. The two Goa’uld were watching the humans nervously. Sandburg glared at them for a moment. “What are we going to do with them?” 

O’Neill shrugged. “Send them back to their home, I guess. You have a better idea?” 

Sandburg approached the oldest of the two. The armored man towered over Sandburg, almost as tall as Simon. “Can you understand me?” 

The Goa’uld nodded. “You killed Balam. What do you want from us?” 

“We want you to return to your world. You will tell your lord that your leader was killed in a skirmish with the native population. There is no need to return. There is nothing on this planet of use to your people.” 

“And if my lord does not agree?” 

Sandburg shrugged. “We’ll be watching. We’ll know. If you come through the Stargate again, you will not survive.” 

The Goa’uld sneered. “You are not that powerful.” 

Sandburg just looked at him, and a tiny sneer touched his lips. “You don’t have the slightest idea how powerful we are, do you?” 

The prisoners looked at each other in silent communication, then offered their tied hands to be released. Sam sliced through the webbing holding them with a quick thrust. They quickly trotted into the jungle toward the Stargate.

“Sandburg, that wasn’t very smart. The population here cannot defend themselves from the Goa’uld. Once those two get home, you can count on this planet being invaded.” O’Neill waited for Sandburg’s reaction to his words.

“Jack, if they return, they will come to the temple and enter it. They will find the bones of Balam, his weapons on the floor. They will find the bones of a native in one of the pools used for their rituals. Then they will leave, believing that the natives have a power great enough to kill and treat their weapons as trash.” 

Daniel shook his head. 

“That is not the history of the Goa’uld.” Teal’C agreed. “The returning warriors will tell of our involvement. Their leader will know that Earth was involved.” 

Sandburg nodded again, but his eyes were on the temple where Jim was barely silhouetted in the dawning light. “And Earth is allied with Asgard, right? They won’t risk it.” 

Jack shook his head. “I’d like to know why you are so sure.” 

Sandburg’s eyes met Jack’s for a second. “Call it a Shaman’s intuition, all right?” 

Jim emerged from the temple and looked at the eye that had drawn him there originally. He didn’t have a way to close the entrance to the interior and he wished otherwise. He wiped his hands on his pants, smearing the soot from the torches down the length of his thighs. He looked at the group waiting for him, then at the temple one more time.

Inside, he’d taken Sandburg’s incense, and the tea leaves and made an offering to the Chopec gods. He performed as much of the ancient ritual that he could remember to speed Seer on his way to his spirit journey. A large jaguar and a panting wolf had bracketed him as he chanted, howling and growling in all the places where a tribe would have responded to the chants. 

Then he had taken soot from the torches and carefully inscribed, in Chopec, a warning to anyone finding the temple. Underneath the ancient drawings, the Sentinel stated firmly that a fierce blue eyed god would return if the tribe was threatened. 

Both the jaguar and wolf laughed at the warning, but pressed their paws into a pile of ashes and signed the statement. Jim added his own symbol, a circle within a circle, depicting the Stargate. 

Jim trotted down the stairs and took his crossbow and quiver from Sandburg. He looked at O’Neill and the rest of the team. “Are we done here?” 

“I am, if you are.” O’Neill nodded. 

“Good.” Jim started off down the path, leaving the others to stare after him. Sandburg shook his head and took off after him. “Jim, wait up. You’ve got to tell me what you did up there.” 

“If I tell you, I’ll have to tell everyone.” Jim kept walking. 

“But —?” 

Jim stopped and turned around. He took Blair around the waist and started them toward the Stargate again. “Make a deal, with you Chief.” 

“I’m listening.” Blair hesitated at Jim’s tone of voice.

“When we get back, we’ll sit down and decide if this is what we want to do, or if you have had enough planet hopping for awhile. Then I’ll tell you what I did up there. In return, you will tell me, truthfully, how you feel about being a cop, in Cascade.” 

“Jim —?” Blair’s tone was incredulous. 

“Chief?” Jim stopped them again and turned the young man to face him. “For all of this adventure, we’ve just been putting off a decision. No more straddling a fence, no more doing something because it’s what I want.” He cocked his head, hearing the others rapidly approaching. “We just found out the lengths another race will go to get their hands on a Sentinel. We have really got to get our act together. Comprende?” 

Blair nodded. “Comprende.” He grinned at Jim. “Sentinel and Shaman to the planet Earth. Has a good ring to it, don’t you think?” 

Jim groaned and started back down the trail, his arm still wrapped around Blair’s waist. “What are we going to tell Simon?”


End file.
